Fear Itself
by little-pint
Summary: Elsa is a lone traveller on the run. When she encounters the Guardians, they take her in after finding out she has no home. Jack, however, unintentionally discovers Elsa's dark secret about her powers and promises to help her in anyway he can. However, Elsa becomes a target to Pitch and an unknown Master who has dark intentions for her. (Jelsa) (Jelsa Modern AU) (Modern AU)
1. Prologue

Prologue

The abandoned sanctuary was cold and dark. The only source of light was the dim sunlight that seeped through the stained glass windows. Cobwebs and dust were the source of evidence that showed how old this place was and that it's been years since anyone stepped through the doors. It was perfect for Pitch because no one was here to bother them. Him and his new apprentice. No one would even think of coming to this place. Not even those who were considered a threat to him. It made his initiation with her much easier.

Never before had he imagined that he would stand here face to face with the ultimate weapon that could bring a whole city to his whim. The first time he had given her his offer, she set off a blizzard that could've turned into an eternal winter. It was his way of showing her how little control she had of her powers and how much she needed his help to learn to control it. Although she had run away in the beginning, he knew it was only a matter of time before she came running back to him. Now here she was, standing before him ready to become the apprentice he had hoped for.

"I must admit," he started, "I've had my doubts. You've had yours as well. But all that is behind you now, isn't it?

"Yes." His apprentice didn't make eye contact with him, but the answer was given swiftly. With almost no hesitation. Almost...

"You belong to me now, correct?" He continued his interrogation. The shadow figure had to be sure his apprentice wouldn't betray him and that she would remain loyal to him and only him.

"I do," she answered again.

This time there was no hesitation, which pleased the dark one. There was no sign of emotion either in her voice other than anger. Anger from the betrayal she felt when the Guardians disowned her. And Pitch smirked because of it. It made things easier for him. He didn't even need to make an effort to turn her against the Guardians. They already did that on their own. Luck was in his favor this time.

The apprentice was clad in a black spandex suit that hugged her curves well. It was paired with a leather corset that had four buckles to hold it in place around the apprentice's slim torso. She also wore black combat boots and black leather gloves to conceal her hands. Of course it wasn't because her powers needed concealing now that she had better control of her powers. It was merely a part of her new outfit. Her platinum hair was braided loosely, dangling over one side of her shoulder as usual. Pitch wanted her to change her hair by cutting it, but she insisted on keeping it because she knew keeping her hair would serve as a reminder to her new enemies who she used to be: their friend. She wanted them to remember that she, too, used to be a Guardian. Because of this, Pitch agreed to let her keep the hair.

"From now on until your last breath, will you serve me and only me?" Pitch continued.

"I will."

"You promise to obey each and every one of my command without fail?"

"I will," the apprentice promised.

"And without question?" He asked as he formed a knife from the black smog that floated around his palms, ready to cut himself.

"I will."

The dark one sliced the blade through his palm and blood the color of ebony seeped through his new wound. "And will you fight by my side forever?" He asked as he held his cut hand out to her.

Without answering, she looked at his bleeding hand. It was hard to tell if she was hesitating or if she was simply afraid of what she could be getting herself into. Pitch didn't like it, but he ceased to show any signs of concern from it.

After a short moment of silence, the apprentice proceeded to remove her leather glove and held out her exposed hand to him. "I will," she finally answered.

Pitch smiled as he dragged the blade across her clean palm. It cut through her milky white skin like butter and left a thin crimson mark. She didn't flinch at all like he had expected her to. This made the nightmare king smile because he knew she was much stronger than the last time he had trained her. When he first started training her, she was a lonely and scared little girl who couldn't control her own powers. Blinded by her own fear, she ran away like a coward from everyone. But thanks to him now, she had full control over her gift. Over the course of her training, she grew stronger. And now she was his apprentice.

The boogeyman held her hand with his cut hand so that their wounds were pressed against each other. There was a sting from the direct contact of the wounds but neither one of them were bothered by it. This would bound him and her together forever as master and apprentice. No one would be able to change that.

But Pitch wasn't fully convinced yet. He needed to make sure she knew where her loyalties lied and there were no lingering feelings for her friends that would lead her to betray him. Although they were bound by blood, he had but one final test for her to prove she was truly the apprentice he wanted. And to prove she no longer affiliated herself with the Guardians, she needed to succeed.

Once their blood binding was over, Pitch pulled his hand back and sealed his wound with his wound with dark magic. "Now my dear apprentice. Although you have made a covenant with me bound by blood, I have one more test for you to prove to me you are the apprentice I've been looking for."

The apprentice looked up him, waiting for him to reveal his test to her. "Will you destroy the Guardians?"

Silence again filled the room. But it was much more brief than the first time. The blonde one looked down at her cut, now tainted black from Pitch's blood. She watched as the cut closed up and left a faded scar across her palm. Once her palm was completely healed, she curled it into a fist until her knuckles were white and her first was shaking.

"Elsa?"

With one brow raised, she smirked as if she she had been waiting for him to ask that question. There was so much hatred in those piercing blue eyes of hers. Something he didn't think she could ever show. It was rather daunting to him. Although his apprentice was smiling at him, her gaze was as cold as ice.

Holding that smirk, she answered."I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Now before you get any ideas….NO! This is not a Pitch X Elsa fanfic. That is one ship that makes me cringe more than the Helsa ship. This is merely an opening to my fanfic. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense as to why Elsa would work with Pitch but I promise it'll make a lot more sense as the story progresses.**

 **This story was inspired by the elements of Terra's story from Teen Titans. Also a quick warning that this story may contain the following: Violence, sexual themes, and blood. This story is NOT considered child-friendly. If you are sensitive to such genres then please refrain from reading.**

 **Since that is out of the way… THANK YOU readers for clicking on this story! I hope the story meets up to your standards! I love Jelsa so much, I had to eventually start writing. It's been awhile since I've written fanfics so I decided to use my OTP as my muse to try and get back into it after over two years of writer's block. :')**

 **Reviews are always appreciated whether they're compliments or criticism (I'm a big girl. I can handle it...sobs lol!). Just be gentle when posting critical comments. I can handle those but just refrain from posting unnecessary negative comments (i.e. Your story sucks! You should quit writing, This is boring etc.).**

 **Thanks guys! I love you so much! And I'll talk to you soon! Enjoy the story! :3**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The blonde girl ran like her life depended on it. Behind her was the abominable snowman, Marshmallow. This guy wasn't like the cute snowman you'd see like Frosty. This snowman was very monstrous had a more humanoid structure rather than the adorable ball-like curves most snowmen had most children were familiar with. He stood a good 15 feet tall and had sharp icicles protruding from his shoulders, thighs, knees, and even his nails.

He was much faster than the last time she remembered. It didn't help that she was running in the snow. Not that it was a problem for her now. When she first started her training had to really pick up her feet and think light since her feet kept sinking into the snow with every step she took. After years of experience she finally mastered running on snow. However, even after mastering it she still prefered running over solid ground.

The girl knew she couldn't keep running though. She had to make a move now. Okay now. Focus, she thought to herself. Concentrate and-

With her last thought drifting, she released a stream of ice that emerged from her palms and directed it to her opponent. With some success, she managed to hit his shoulder, but the snowman showed no signs of pain.

Well, of course he can't feel pain. He's made of snow and ice, the girl thought. This was hardly fair because although she was born with these powers, she was still technically human. Pain was just part of the humane package.

Quickly, the blonde picked some snow and formed it into a snowball. She waved her hand over it and the energy she released gave the snowball a bluish glow showing. It was now heightened with her magic. With everything she got, she threw the snowball at the snowman. The snowball grew bigger with every second it spent flying towards its target. By the time it reached the snowman, it was almost as big as the set target. The now large snowball hit the snowman successfully, burying it in the process with only its limbs sticking out at four different corners. Marshmallow was down and lifeless in the snow.

The girl did a quick fist pump, feeling rather proud of herself. Her aim had definitely improved since she started her training. When she first started, she couldn't even hit her targets during the first five attempts. But she didn't let that stop her because she knew that she had to get better or she couldn't survive in this world.

As the girl approached her fallen opponent, the snowman's seemingly lifeless finger suddenly twitched. The ground started rumbling, which wasn't good. The snowhill that buried Marshmallow suddenly formed into one with the snowman almost as if the creature was absorbing it. The girl took a cautious step back as she watched her opponent rise back up, looking almost twice his size. He looked more intimidating than usual. But the girl knew she couldn't let his size overwhelm her. There would probably be worse obstacles than an oversized snowman out there that she would face. Hell, the current obstacle she had to face was already tough enough.

There had to be another way to beat him. But how?

The blonde girl, scanned her surroundings quick until she saw a snowy canyon at the end of the forest behind her. There were walls practically made of ice and it was perfect. A smirk formed from the corner of the girl's lips as a plan set in her head.

As the giant snowman let out a roar, the girl twirled around and headed for the canyons with Marshmallow following her.

From behind, the large snowman raised its arm to attack. It slammed its enormous fist down near the girl. The impact brought enough force to send her flying to the side. The girl screamed as she flew in the air like a rag doll and made an 'oof!' sound when her back hit a pine tree. She fell with her back 3 inches deep into the snow and little flakes from the pine tree's branches fell, sprinkling the girl's face and pale locks.

"Woah! You okay?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

The girl knew that the voice didn't belong to Marshmallow because this voice was high and sounded friendly whereas Marshmallow's voice was more deep and hoarse. Tiny little twig-like hands reached for hers in an attempt to help her up as she pushed herself up from the snow. She was surprised to find out the voice belonged another tiny snowman. The only difference with this little guy was his body structure and height. He was almost as big as a stuffed animal and the traditional body of a typical snowman, which was three snowballs stacked on top of each other.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I don't know," he answered innocently.

"I meant 'what's your name?'"

"Well, you made me so maybe you should pick one for me," the snowman giggled.

"Made you?" she repeated. This was the first time she unintentionally made another live snowman. She knew it was because of her powers, but she couldn't even explain to herself how it happened.

"Yeah! It was funny because the first thing I saw when I was born was you flying," Olaf giggled. "A little rough on the landing, but still cool!"

Over the tiny snowman's shoulder, she spotted Marshmallow hastily approaching them with a bladed icicle replacing one of his hands. She quickly picked up the tiny snowman and got on her feet. She jumped out of the way before he could slice her with his new blade. It ran right through the tree she hit and it tumbled into the snow.

As the girl ran with the little snow guy in her arms, she asked, "How did you know I made you?" she asked it.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Just a feeling?"

"Well, I guess an introductory is in order," the blond one said as she continued to run.

"Oh! Great idea!" the tiny snowman beamed. "Since you actually have a name, why don't you go first?"

"Uh," she breathed, "it's Elsa."

* * *

The alarm went off in the Guardian's headquarters, telling the entire team there was a disturbance. Everyone gathered into the control room where the large Russian named North was already waiting.

Of all the members, he was the oldest. He had a long white beard as a result from not shaving for a long as the old man could remember. He always wore a long red coat with black fur embellished at the sleeves and opening. Although North was old, he had a talent with swords and could communicate with animals, which was useful to collect information. Even animals knew more than humans gave them credit for.

"Oy! What's the trouble now, mate?" The one with a thick Australian accent asked.

He was a man in his early thirties with purple hair spiked back and dark bushy brows to frame his face. Both his arms were decorated with tribal tattoos that extended from his pecks up to his lower triceps. Normally, he would proudly wear tank tops to leave them exposed, but because of the weather he wore a dark lilac thermal top with long sleeves along with a black buckle strapped across his chest, which held his weapons. He also sported black gauntlets with almost everything he wore.

His choice of weaponry included his boomerangs and crossbows. Bunnymund had a gift of eyesight, meaning he never ever missed. Back in high school he was nicknamed 'Bullseye' when he won his archery team first place during the championships. The secret was that all Bunnymund had to think about was his target. Once he had his focus on it and he released his weapon, it was like an unknown force would guide it to its exact target almost like magic.

"We're about to find out, Bunnymund," North answered as he pressed a button. "Sandy, can you help an old man over here?"

The man with gold locks tied back into a ponytail nodded silently before joining North at the computer. His eyes were intensely focused on the computer. He was almost the same age as Bunnymund. Although he was a mute, he was the computer genius of the group. There was almost no problem his intellect could concur with an inventive solution. Not only was he talented with technology, Sandy was also talented in combat. His prefered weapon were golden whips that could disguise itself has a snake-like bangle around his wrists. Despite being the quiet one with a gentle face, Sandy was considered one of the Guardian's toughest fighters.

"Well, whatever it is, we can take 'em," Bunnymund declared, hitting his fist into his palm.

"Easy there, bunny boy. First we need to find out where and what the trouble is," the boy with white hair teased while he leaned against the wall.

Among the group he was the youngest of them all. He was in his early twenties and had pale white skin. He usually prefered to wear navy blue hoodies and jeans during the winter. His hair was white like snow and always stuck up like swept spikes. He always carried around a wooden staff with a sharp curve at the top that formed a "C" shape. Although the staff may not seem like much, it aided Jack as not only a weapon but as a wand for his ability to manipulate snow. His staff actually wasn't the true source of his powers, but he still kept it close because it was his comrade and protector before he joined the Guardians.

"Watch it, Bo Peep," Bunnymund warned the white haired boy.

"The name's Jack," the boy corrected.

"And my name's Bunnymund not bunny boy!" Bunnymund growled.

"Dude, 'Bunnymund' is a mouth full," Jack shrugged.

"Call me 'bunny boy' one more time-" Bunnymund started walking towards

"Easy there, Bunnymund," the girl named Toothiana placed a hand on Bunnymund's shoulder to calm him.

Her hairstyle was a black pixie cut with long side swept bangs that had green, blue, and yellow streaks. You could never catch her without feather earrings dangling from her earlobes. Her gift was the gift of flight. She had wings that were disguised as normal tattoos behind her back. At will, it would rise from her skin and grow into a beautiful pair of wings that had the gradient colors of green, blue, and yellow. They really were truly a spectacular sight when unfurled.

Toothiana's weapon of choice was a set of kunai knives. Thanks to her training with Bunnymund she was able to master the art of aiming, which made her just a lethal as any of the Guardians despite her gentle personality.

Bunny stared into her pink eyes and looked away with a hot face. "Whatever," he choked. "North, just find out where we need to go."

"Sandy's already working on it," North replied, taking a step back from the computer system.

A few seconds North spoke, Sandy pointed at the large computer screen where a white dot was blinking on the map shown.

"So where are we headed?" Jack asked.

North answered, "The canyons."

* * *

"So um, Elsa, why are we running from the funky looking guy?" the tiny snowman asked.

"Uh...it's...hard to explain...right now," she struggled in between her breaths as she continued to run from Marshmallow. Her throat was starting to feel dry from the constant running. It wasn't that she couldn't explain to the snowman, it was just physically hard for her to speak at the moment.

"Aw c'mon! I can keep up," he insisted.

"That's...not it. Now's just...not a good time," she wheezed. With the time she spent running, her lungs felt like they were on fire.

"Oh! Are we playing tag or something?"

"Uh…yeah. Except if he catches me we both lose," Elsa lied so the snowman would stop asking questions.

"Really? Well, then you keep running and I'll distract him!" The little snowman jumped out of her arms.

"No! Wait!" Elsa slid to a stop and turned back to the snowmen. Was that little thing crazy?

"Go! Keep running! I'll distract him!" The little snowman yelled as Marshmallow slowly approached him from behind. He turned to look up at Marshmallow who stopped to look back. "Oh heeeeey, you're much bigger in person," the little one chuckled nervously. The snowman felt like he was looking up at tower while staring at the giant. Compared to his size the tiny snowman was like a mouse. Maybe talking snowman to snowman wasn't gonna do any good.

Marshmallow moved his focus back to Elsa and started running again, ignoring the little one. The little snowman screamed a 'no' and attempted to stop him by grabbing his ankles. He ended up being dragged along with the large snowman. "This is not making much of a difference, is it?" he asked himself aloud.

Elsa rolled her eyes and started sprinting again towards her destination. The little guy was going to be okay despite being attached to Marshmallow. She was very close now. The canyons that seemed so small now appeared huge thanks to the close distance between her and the destination.

* * *

The Guardians found the canyons, but there was no sign of danger yet. It was entirely covered with snow. The walls looked like they were entire made of ice. A large trail of pine trees from beyond the canyon were all covered by blankets of snow. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Unfortunately now wasn't the time to appreciate it. They came here to find out what was the disturbance and bring peace again.

The air was definitely cold, but that didn't bother Jack. As a winter spirit, he enjoyed the cold and he couldn't be more happy in the field when it was snowing. He could always create snow, but there was nothing like seeing snow from nature, which was why winter was his favorite season of all.

"Oy, lover boy!" Bunnymund snapped at him. "We are here to work not play. Ya got that?"

Jack shrugged with a smirk. "Whatever you say, bunny boy."

Bunnymund pulled out a boomerang and started walking towards the winter spirit. "Alright, little Bo Peep. You wanna go then bring it on!"

Jack readied himself for Bunnymund's first move, but Toothiana jumped in between them immediately with her arms out. "Stop! No more mean talk please," she said. "We're here to find the disturbance and bring a stop to it not cause more chaos."

"She's right, lads," North said with his thick Russian accent. "If ya insist on brawlin, then at least wait 'til we get back to the headquarterz. We got a job to do here."

Bunnymund glared at Jack while the winter spirit returned a glance with a mischievous smile instead. After a moment of staring, Bunnymund finally set aside his weapon as did Jack.

Although Bunny and Jack did have their arguments like this from time to time, it didn't make them any less friends. They did care for each other in their own odd way. Bunnymund just didn't show it as much as did Jack who hid his care behind all his teasing and jokes. They were like the comedic duo or two brothers that always fought in the family.

"Over there!" Toothiana pointed towards the forest area just where the canyon ended.

The first thing they noticed was the large snowman headed towards them. But their attention was immediately moved to a smaller figure that was running from the snow monster: a girl.

"A human girl?" Jack questioned. "In the middle of the forest?"

"What the hell is she doin all the way out here?" Bunnymund asked.

"Enough with the questions and let's go help!" Without another word Toothiana flew towards the forest and was followed by the rest of the guardians.

* * *

"Woah!" Elsa screamed after she managed to dodge Marshmallows attack with his ice blade. He was cutting a lot of trees which wasn't good. She knew she had to stop this as soon as possible.

When she finally reached the last tree before the border of the canyon, she turned her back against it to face her opponent. Marshmallow slowly approached the girl with his arm blade raised as he approached. Knowing full well his target had nowhere else to run, he finally slashed at her.

As if on cue, Elsa managed to jump over the blade and let it run through the tree. The tree produced a creaking sound as it slowly started to tumble. Elsa ran right behind it and dashed up the tree when it was in a diagonal position. Thanks to all her training she was able reach the top before it completely fell. With the help of her weight, the tree fell in the direction she wanted, which was towards Marshmallow.

The tree landed flat on her opponent, squishing him. A wave of snow splashed on either side of the tree. Elsa smirked, feeling a sense of victory as she stood over the tree proudly.

"You put up a good fight Marshmallow," she chuckled.

"Hurray! We won! We won!" The tiny snowman cheered the moment he popped out of the snow.

Elsa had nearly forgotten about him. "So do we win something?"

Before Elsa could answer, the ground started rumbling beneath them and the tree.

"Okay, either there's an earthquake or something bad is about to happen," the snowman pointed out.

"No shit," Elsa said sarcastically.

The blonde girl jumped from the tree just before it was cut up by icicle blades from underneath. Snow rose up from the ground and shape shifted into the large silhouette of Marshmallow. The giant snowman roared at Elsa and the small snowman. Elsa quickly picked up the small one, threw him over her shoulder, and ran for it.

"I think he's angry," the small snowman pointed out as he watched Marshmallow chase them from behind.

"He's not angry," Elsa corrected. "He's just determined!"

Elsa ran into the canyons, watching her step to make sure she doesn't slip on any patches of icy floors. Luckily most of the roads were covered in snow so that was the least of her worries.

There had to be a way to beat Marshmallow. He was much more determined to beat her than before. A common trait they both had because Elsa wasn't gonna go down without a fight either.

There was nothing else she around her that she could use other snow and ice. The exact things that Marshmallow was made of. How lethal could both things be to him?

As Elsa continued to run, she observed the high walls of the canyon surrounding her. Everything was covered with ice. And just like that, a new idea hit her.

"Hey, snow butt," Elsa called to her tiny companion.

"Yeah? Is that my new name? Snow butt? It's kind of cute!" he giggled.

"No, I need you to find safe ground and don't move until it's safe," Elsa explained.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Trust me. I have everything under control," Elsa assured him just before she threw him to the side away from Marshmallow.

* * *

The Guardians were more than ready to jump in and save her. But they stopped in their tracks when the girl tricked the snow beast into cutting down a tree with its own weapon. Despite her efforts, the weight of the tree wasn't enough to bring it to an end. The snow monster rose up, destroying the tree and then continued to pursue the girl.

The girl stopped at fork in the road. "Oh no, don't go left," Jack whispered, knowing full well that direction was going to be a dead end.

Unfortunately, the girl headed for the left straight into the dead end side. The snow monster managed to catch up with her and struck with his first this time. She dodged the attack but barely. The impact sent her flying to the ground and her crystal hairpin, slipped from her when she landed. She attempted to pick it up, but the snowman struck again, blocking her from the hairpin. The girl jumped to her feet ran as fast as she could to set more distance between her and the snow monster. She ran until she finally reached the dead end of the road. The wall stood a good 80 feet tall so climbing for the girl was no option. The snow monster approached the girl, looking victorious. She backed up until her back met with the ice cold wall. There was no other way out for the girl. She was obviously trapped. It was time of the Guardians to jump in.

"Guardian's move!" North ordered.

Just as they were about to make their move, the ground started to rumble. It wasn't an earthquake and it certainly wasn't coming from the oversized snowman. The Guardians froze in place when they figured it was coming from the girl.

The girl's entire eyes started to glow a bluish color as she raised her hands in the hair. The walls shook until large chunks of ice broke off on opposite sides, forming into a humongous iceberg either side of the snow monster. The iceberg levitated slowly above the snow monster. With a scream, the girl brought her arms down, bringing down the iceberg and sending the snow monster to its demise.

Every single one of the guardians were astounded by this unexpected turn of events. The girl was gifted with manipulation of ice and she was a human being as far as they could tell.

"She was never in trouble," Toothiana finally spoke.

"She was leading it into a trap," Bunnymund added.

"Ay, she is a clever one," North commented.

"Real question is," Jack started, "'Who is she?'"

* * *

Another figure stood by watching with fascination of what had just occurred. From a dark cave not too far from where the Guardians stood, Pitch emerged from its shadows. The cave stood on the opposite side of the canyon where the Guardians were, but this cave was on a higher level, hiding Pitch from their sight. But the Guardians weren't the ones who's he had his attention on.

With an unpleasant smirk, the dark one glanced at the blonde girl he had been looking for. The human girl who was gifted with ice magic. She was the one he wanted.

For a long while he had been watching this girl, studying both her strengths and weaknesses. The strength of her power was unimaginable and she didn't even realize just how powerful she could be yet. He intended to show her in his own terms so she could be led under his influence. He had no intention of just jumping the gun. He had his own plan and even he had to admit, it was a good one.

"Don't get too attached, my dear Guardians," he spoke as if they could hear him. "I saw her first."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Elsa let out a sigh of relief, knowing she had won the battle. She raised the now shattered iceberg from the ground, to help free her friend. The large snowman rose up from the ground and rubbed its head.

"Sorry if I was too rough, Marshmallow. I can go easy on you next time," she teased.

Marshmallow gave her a look and shook its head. He actually did hate it when Elsa held back whenever they both had a dual. The main reason why Elsa created him was so he could help her train and practice her combat skills. She needed them because with every town she passed by there was always trouble. Thanks to the constant training she had she was able to stomp a few bad guys here and there when it was called for. It was also a nice way to pass the time and do something useful with her powers.

Seemed like every time they trained, Marshmallow was getting tougher, which was good. It gave her a challenge to be better than she was. From time to time, Elsa would have her loses just like Marshmallow. But today wasn't one of those days. Elsa was definitely proud of herself because Marshmallow really fought with everything he had and she managed to defeat him in the end.

The blond girl held her fist out, inviting Marshmallow for a fist bump. It was a thing they both did after every match no matter who won. When the snowman's fist didn't meet with hers, she looked up at him confused. Marshmallow was looking at something from behind her.

The girl turned and was surprised to see the famous Guardians standing right behind her. Unlike most heroes, the guardians didn't have a alias or a secret life like most heroes were protrayed to have in comics or movies. The Guardians we're actually known in their city for their heroic services they performed in their city. Elsa knew about them because she saw them featured on the news before when one of their battles were broadcasted.

All of them had an astound expression on their faces. There was no doubt they witnessed her victory over her battle with Marshmallow. Which also meant they saw her powers in action.

"What? Haven't you seen a superhero before?" she asked, teasingly.

"You know that thing?" The purple haired one pointed at Marshmallow.

The giant snowman growled at him. Elsa held her arm out to keep him from charging at the purple hair. "Yes," she answered obviously offended even though the huge snowman wasnt effected by Bunnymund's question."This _thing_ is my friend and his name is Marshmallow." She snapped her fingers and the large Marshmallow disappeared into the snow.

"Woah," Jack whispered.

"Easy there, lassie. We didn't mean any offense." North cleared his throat and approached her with a hand out. "I am North and we're the-"

"The Guardians. It's cool to finally meet you guys!" Elsa finished for him excitedly. Rather than shaking North's hand, she gave him a quick fist bump. With every name she mentioned, she pointed her finger at the correct owner of the name. "And you are...Toothiana, Bunnymund, Sandy and-"

"Jacky!" Jack answered for her quickly when her finger pointed at him. He looked nervous and anxious when he spoke. "I mean, Jack Ass! No!"

"Jack Frost?" she finished for him.

Jack's face turned red with embarrassment as Bunnymund laid his arm over the boy's shoulder. "Forgive him, mate. He's not exactly smooth with girls."

"I'll kill you," Jack hissed into his ear.

"He's kinda funny," Elsa giggled.

"You think I'm funny? Really?" Jack asked, surprised.

Elsa nodded with a smile that made his chest heavy and his stomach turn in a good way. It was rare for someone to think that because he was the only one in his group with a sense of humor. Toothiana being the nice one did listen to his jokes sometimes while the others tune him out, but it wasn't something he could do with her every day.

Toothiana moved so close to Elsa that she had to lean back a little just to put a little distance between the two of them. "Curiosity abounds! Where do you come from? What is your favorite color? Do you like to eat, and would you like to be friends?" She asked in one breath.

"Um, Arendelle, light blue, yes, and uh, sure," Elsa answered calmly.

Toothiana's face beamed with joy and she immediately pulled Elsa into a tight embrace. "Hello then, new friend!"

Toothiana couldn't contain her excitement since she was the only girl in her group. It was always make friends with another so they could do what other girls do together typically. Like go to the mall together, hangout, shop, maybe talk boys.

"How're you doing?" Elsa asked in a strained voice while attempting to hide the dull pain she felt from the fairy girl's hug. The blonde girl was pretty surprised with how strong Toothiana's grip was. She knew that the girl could fly and was talented with knives, but she didn't know she was this strong.

When Toothiana finally released her, the blond girl rolled her shoulders to crack her back. Jack casually walked next to her and bite his lip.

"So, um, what brings you to our city?" It was obvious Jack was trying to keep his composure.

Bunnymund couldn't help but snort in the back while watching Jack trying to impress this girl. This was the first time, he ever saw Jack smitten by someone. He couldn't really say that Jack was experienced with women since the girl he interacted the most was Toothiana. However, he never really looked at her that way so she didn't really count in Bunnymund's book.

"I go where the wind goes," Elsa answered, "see news places, stop some bad guys if its called for."

"Cool!" Jack was intrigued with how adventurous Elsa was.

"Fascinating!" Toothiana commented.

"So where do you live, lassie?" North asked.

"Oh, you know. Here and there," Elsa shrugged.

"You mean you don't have a home?" Jack asked.

"I did once," Elsa answered. "I've been crashing in a cave for a bit-"

"Unacceptable!" Toothiana interrupted. "I can't allow a friend of mine to live alone in a cold, dark cave."

"It doesn't really bother me much," Elsa tried to assure her. "Plus, I have a flashlight."

Toothiana landed herself and let her wings fold back into their tattoo form. She grabbed Elsa's wrist and started dragging her down towards the headquarters. "You will stay with us," she insisted.

"Really I couldn't impose, you guys." Elsa struggled to keep her ground, but the fairy girl was too strong to stop.

North stepped behind her and gave her a light push to help Toothiana. "Ah, it's alright, lassie. We've got plenty of room."

Jack walked up beside her and smiled. " Yeah c'mon! It'll be great. And I can make you laugh some more. I am funny, right?" he gave a wink.

Elsa chuckled. She strangely found him welcoming. Although it was against her policy to spend the night at a person's place, she figured it was alright for just this once. "Well, I guess one night wouldn't hurt."

"Yes!" Jack, North, and Toothiana cheered in unison as they led Elsa to their headquarters.

Bunnymund started to follow but noticed, Sandy kneeling by the shattered iceberg Elsa made. He had almost forgotten Sandy was there since he had been silent the whole time. Not that the poor guy had any choice.

The purple haired man walked up to Sandy and tapped his shoulders. "Everything alright, mate?" he asked.

Sandy shrugged as if saying ' _Not sure_ ,' before he got up started walking in the same direction as Jack, North, Toothiana, and Elsa. Bunnymund looked at his surroundings for a moment as if he was looking for someone. The entire place looked deserted, but Bunnymund was getting bad vibes for some reason. It felt like there was someone or something watching them.

Bunnymund suddenly felt something tap the side of his boot. In an instant, he kicked whatever had touched him and it flew yards away from him towards his friends with a loud yelp. It screamed until it landed, confirming Bunnymund that it was something alive. He ran up to the creature he kicked and held one of his boomerangs at its throat.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

"I don't know!" the tiny snowman shivered.

Elsa heard the familiar scream from the tiny snowman. She had completely forgotten about him. She looked over her shoulder and saw Bunnymund threatening the poor thing. The girl immediately ran back to them and released a stream of snow towards Bunnymund, which sent him flying away from the snowman.

"Back off he's with me," Elsa said, stepping in between Bunnymund and the snowman.

"He could've been a spy of some sort," Bunnymund picked himself up and swiped the snow off his shoulders.

"He's my friend and you better apologize, Bunnymund," Elsa warned.

Bunnymund scoffed. "And what's your friend's name?" he asked while stowing his weapons away.

Elsa looked behind her companion and remembered she hadn't had a chance to name him since they both met during her battle with Marshmallow. "It's...Olaf," she finally answered. It took her a second to come up with it, but it was the best thing she could think of on such short notice.

"Olaf?" the purple haired man snorted. "Well, it's a lot better than Marshmallow I'll give you that." He didn't look sorry at all for threatening her friend, which infuriated Elsa.

"Don't insult my friends!" Elsa did not find Bunnymund's humor amusing at all. In fact, she felt offended for both of her friends.

Anger started to consume her. The ground was shaking and the girl's eyes started to glow blue. The more she felt, the more energy she released, triggering her powers. The emotions that could set off her powers was sadness and anger. Elsa was always careful to keep her emotions at bay so she didn't lose control.

"Friends? You call a pile of ice friends?" Bunnymund chuckled.

"I can show you the difference between ice and snow," Elsa warned as she readied to attack Bunnymund with everything she had.

Before the blonde girl could make her move, she felt a hand on shoulder that pulled her attention away from Bunnymund. Just before she turned to face who touched her, her eyes reverted back to their normal blue color and the earth ceased to shake.

When she looked over her shoulder to see who the hand belonged to, her eyes met with Jack's.

"Easy there, Elsa. I know he's being a jerk, but let's not start something," he explained.

"If anyone started something, it's him!" Elsa nodded to Bunnymund. "He's the one agitating me."

"I never said he was smart," Jack chuckled.

"Oy! What'd you say, Bo Peep?" Bunnymund demanded.

Elsa sighed. "I don't think it'll be a good idea for me to stay, Jack." The blonde girl realized she was very close to repeating her mistake again. She nearly let her emotions get the better of her and things could've ended badly here.

"No way. It's okay! Bunnymund is always like that around us. You get used to it eventually. He's kinda like the Stitch in our family," Jack laughed.

"Don't lie there, mate!" Bunnymund yelled from a distance. "Everyone knows you're the troublemaker-oof!"

A snowball was thrown in his face before he could even finish his sentence. "I'm sorry. What were you gonna say, bunny boy?" Jack laughed.

Elsa laughed softly, unable to hold back her laughter. She attempted to bite her lip to stop herself but it was useless. It was hard not to laugh when she witness karma literally hitting Bunnymund back in the face.

The purple haired man wiped the snow off his face. "You're gonna pay for that, you little frostbite-"

Another snowball was thrown by Jack with enough force to send Bunnymund flying back. The purple haired man growled as he got up swiping the snow off his hair and face. Toothiana seeing the commotion, unfurled her wings and flew over to Bunnymund to help him up.

"There now," Toothiana said while she helped him brush off some of the snow on his shirt. "You know that's what you get for teasing the poor girl."

Bunnymund gave her a look. "Who's side are you on?" he asked.

"No one's," Toothiana raised both her hands in surrender. "I just want peace. So how about we go home and have some tea." Toothiana didn't give him a chance to respond and took his hand. She took off with Bunnymund and disappeared into the sky with North and Sandy following them on an airborne sled.

"Shall we go?" Jack nudged Elsa

Elsa hesitated. "I don't know, Jack."

"C'mon. I promise it'll be alright." Jack assured her while patting her shoulder.

"Well," Elsa was hesitated. She was a little embarrassed to ask, but maybe she'd feel more comfortable if Olaf was there. She did after all make him and she intended to keep him as a companion since he couldn't really be hurt with her powers. "Is it alright if he stays with us?"

Jack looked down at Olaf and kneeled so he was looking at the tiny snowman eye to eye. He held a hand out. "What's your name, little guy?" he asked.

Olaf looked up at Elsa as if asking her if it was okay. When she nodded, he looked at Jack and shook his hand with his tiny twig hands. "I am Olaf. And I like warm hugs!"

Jack chuckled. "Then I'll give you one, buddy." He reached for Olaf and wrapped his arms around the tiny snowman, ignoring the cold, wet touch from contact with his body.

Olaf laughed and returned the hug, wrapping his tiny, twig arms around around Jack's neck. "Aw! He likes me!" He giggled. "I like you too!" He nudged Jack's cheek with his hand.

Elsa was in awe of how Jack interacted with Olaf. Most people who knew she could give life to snow figures, found it odd or scary. Jack was probably the very first person to treat her friends like normal people.

Jack picked Olaf up and let the tiny snowman sit on his shoulder. "Hang on, little guy."

"With what?" Olaf asked.

Jack floated up into the air, causing Olaf to squeal and hold onto the hood of his jacket. The winter spirit looked down at Elsa and reached a hand out to her. "Trust me?" he asked when he noticed her hesitation.

Elsa wasn't so sure if this was a good idea. It was against her better instinct stay with other people, but for some reason Jack's friendliness made her feel more comfortable than she had in a long time especially around others. Even the other Guardians seemed to like her companionship especially Toothiana.

 _One night. How bad could that be?_

"Yeah," Elsa smiled softly as she took Jack's hand. Her feet lifted from the cold ground and she was airborne with Jack holding her. This was the very first time, she flew and she felt free just being up there with him.

* * *

"Woah! I can't believe you guys live here!" Elsa exclaimed as she toured the Guardian's headquarters.

Elsa didn't think that the headquarters of the Guardians was an entire building. She had always imagined the Guardians to live in some kind of batcave that contained a lot of computers or navigational systems to help them locate any disturbances or troublemakers around the city. Although there was one specific room that had all that, the rest of the place looked like a normal fancy condo, but bigger. They even had a fantastic view of the city from the living room.

Olaf himself was impressed with the place. "Wow! So this is what heat feels like," he exclaimed with his arms out. "I love it!" He looked around then saw the vent by the TV. "Oh! Is that where it's coming from? Cool!" He ran towards it, leaving a trail of water behind.

"Olaf! You'll melt!" Elsa exclaimed.

"Somethings are worth melting for!" Olaf cheered.

Elsa chuckled. "Not for you, little guy." She waved her hand over him to create a flurry for Olaf to keep the air around him cold so he wouldn't melt even if he was in the presence of something that generated heat.

The Guardians were definitely loaded. Elsa wondered who provided for them since they didn't have normal jobs like people. Whoever it was they worked for must be rich to be able to provide for them an expensive living like this. Although they did offer their service to protect the city, the government didn't provide them with financial aid.

"So," Jack started, "do you want the grand tour or-"

"Got any food?" Elsa asked before he could even finish the question.

* * *

All four of the boys watched in shock as Elsa finished her fourth plate of food from dinner. Toothiana didn't seem bothered at all by Elsa's appetite since she was the one cooking up a storm of food for the hungry girl. It made them wonder just how much Elsa was only able to eat on a daily basis because it obviously wasn't a lot since she ate so many servings of food tonight. Not to mention she had the same table manners of a hungry bear. But what intrigued the boys the most was how she was still able to keep her stomach tiny despite eating all that food. Made them question just where she'd put it all away.

Toothiana came back to the table with a slice of cake. "Wanna try my special beet cheesecake?"

"No-" Jack was about to warn her it tasted horrible, but Bunnymund grabbed him and covered his hand with his free other free hand.

The purple haired guy watched with anticipation as the blonde girl took the cake from Toothiana. If he couldn't get back at her then it would be a site for him to see her gag on one of Toothiana's worse cake recipes. Usually Toothiana's cooking and baking were delicious, but her beet cheesecake was her worst idea ever.

Elsa scooped a chunk of the cake with a fork and ate it. While she chewed it, Olaf grabbed a piece with his hand and threw it into his mouth. Both of them looked at each other smiled, giving their approval before they ate the rest of the cake.

"It tasted like sushi with cream cheese," Elsa commented after finishing the last bit of it. "Got anymore?"

To this all the boys dropped their mouths. They didn't think that there would be a sane person alive to enjoy Toothiana's horrible beet cake.

Toothiana picked up her plate. "I shall go get some more" she beamed before dashing back into the kitchen.

Bunnymund squeezed a chunk of cloth from Jack's hoodie before he finally released the winter spirit. The purple haired man walked off, mumbling under his breath in frustration. Jack couldn't help but laugh at Bunnymund's disappointment to see Elsa actually enjoy Toothiana's cake.

After the blond girl finished her second slice of cake, she and Olaf let out a burp in unison. She stood up from the table and stretched her arms out.

"Do you mind if I use the shower?" she asked.

* * *

Elsa felt so refreshed after finally having a shower. It was so nice to get to scrub her body and wash her hair especially. She was tired of tying it up in a bun to hide evidence of her oily hair. Unfortunately, she didn't have a chance to always shower since she's always on the road and usually slept outside. It's why whenever she had the chance to shower she would take nice long ones and enjoy the feeling of warm water soaking her.

After her shower, the blonde girl lotioned herself with the tiny sample bottles that Toothiana gave her. Then she put on the new underwear Toothiana took the liberty of getting for her and the pajamas she was lent.

She exited the bathroom and was surprised to find Bunnymund waiting outside. "Finally!" He said as he stormed in. "You took so bloody long-what the hell!"

Jack and Toothiana rushed to the bathroom when they heard Bunnymund's screaming.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

Elsa' scratched her head, feeling her face get hot with embarrassment. She couldn't even look up at the two of them. "I guess I was overdue for a rinse," she answered.

"How can I shower in here?" Bunnymund yelled. "It's like a bloody mud slide in here!"

Toothiana laughed. "Oh, hush up and be a man, Bunnymund. A little dirt never hurt anyone," she said before shutting the bathroom door. She turned back to Elsa. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Actually, may I use your sink?" Elsa asked.

* * *

Once the last of her clothes were washed from the sink, she hung them on a couple tall chairs nearby to let them dry overnight. She wasn't sure if they'd dry as fast since they were in the cold season, but hopefully they'd let her borrow the dryer before she'd leave tomorrow.

Elsa looked at the time and saw that it was almost midnight. Her eyes were already feeling heavy so she headed to living room where she would sleep. When she arrived, she noticed Olaf already asleep on the recliner chair not far from the couches. What really got her attention though was Jack sitting on the couches watching TV.

"You're still up?" She asked, taking a seat next to him.

"Actually I was gonna let you sleep in my bed," Jack chuckled. When Elsa raised a suspicious brow at him, he realized what he sounded like. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean with me! I-I mean 'offer you my bed, you know, while I take the couch...for tonight.'"

Elsa laughed at his stuttering. "It's okay," she replied. "I'll be fine with the couch."

"My bed's more comfy," Jack pointed out.

"I'm already satisfied with not sleeping on the floor."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Elsa smiled sincerely to show she meant it.

Jack sighed, wishing she would take his offer. It didn't feel right that their guest was going to sleep on the couch. Although they had a huge place, they didn't have a guest room set up. No one ever thought they'd need one since they almost never invited anyone to spend the night. This was actually a first for them.

"Alright then. But if you need anything then feel free to come to me, okay?"

"Got it!" Elsa gave him a thumbs just before he left.

* * *

Jack found the Toothiana and North outside in the hallway not far from the door of the living room. He didn't need to be a genius to know they were discussing Elsa right now especially cause their conversation was audible even from where he was standing. The winter spirit knew it was late, but he ought to join the conversation. He was curious to know what they had to say about their guest.

"Well, she seems comfortable," North said once Jack joined the conversation.

"I wonder when was the last time she had a decent place to crash," Jack wondered.

"She needs more than just a place to crash, laddie," the old man replied.

"She needs a home," Toothiana added.

"Why not our home?" Jack suggested.

"That would be wonderful!" Toothiana beamed. "I'd finally have a female companion to join me at the mall of shopping!"

"And she would make a great addition to the team. You saw what she can do with her powers," Jack reminded them.

"Ay, that I did," North agreed. "Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow so we can really see what she can do."

With this, Jack and Toothiana agreed. The three guardians bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways for their rooms to turn in for the night. The entire time Elsa had her back pressed against the wall by the door which was conveniently left wide open. She heard every single word the three guardians said about her. They wanted to see what her powers could do.

The only problem was, she didn't want them to.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jack wasn't sure if the cold would bother Elsa despite having ice powers like himself. Maybe it didn't since she was used to sleeping outside. Plus, she only wore a sweater and winter boots which wasn't enough to keep an average person warm in a weather like this. Just to be sure she was comfortable, he decided to bring her some extra blankets in case she wanted to keep warm for the night. He didn't know how long she's been living like this, but he admired the strength she had to live out the lifestyle she did. It must be tough especially 'cause she's out on her own.

The closer the winter spirit got to the living room the more nervous he felt. He's never been this nervous around a girl before. Hell, he wasn't sure how to act properly around a girl. He was only lucky earlier when he managed to convince her to stay with them for the night since Olaf gave him a boost. Maybe his interaction with Toothiana in a way helped him out a bit. But then again, Toothiana was like an older sister to him so of course he'd be comfortable around her. Elsa on the other hand, was something else.

When he finally reached the door to the living room, he slowly opened it and peaked inside. "Hey, Elsa," the white haired boy called to her in a whisper as he approached the couch from behind. "I brought you some extra blankets."

When he looked over the couch, Elsa wasn't there. The pillows and blankets were folded neatly on top. In fact, it looked like they weren't touched at all. This made Jack wonder if she took off already. She did say that she only planned to stick around for one night.

His suspicion was proven wrong though when he overheard, Olaf's loud snoring coming from the recliner. The tiny snowman was sound asleep with the flurry still floating above him to keep him cool.

The winter spirit walked over to the sleeping Olaf and lightly poked his head. His slim finger sunk deep into the snowman's cheek. Seemed like touching him wouldn't wake him. "Olaf," Jack whispered close to his ear (if he had one). "Olaaaaaf," he sang a this time. "Olaf!" He said a little louder.

"Gah! Head rush!" The snowman screamed as he woke.

"Shhhh!" Jack placed a finger on the snowman's mouth to shush him.

"Awww! It's…," Olaf trailed off as if he lost his train of thought. Did this little guy even have a brain? "Wait a minute I know you go by Bo Peep, Frostbite, and Jack, but what do you usually prefer?" He asked before letting out a yawn.

Jack laughed at Olaf's innocence. He was one naive, but funny little guy. He didn't think Olaf would take Bunnymund's name calling seriously. "I prefer 'Jack.'"

"Ah, Jack. I kind of liked Bo Peep better," Olaf chuckled.

Jack patted his head. "Let's not get any ideas, little guy."

"Oh, my name's not 'little guy.' It's Olaf," the snowman corrected.

"Okay, Olaf, I know you're tired, but I just wanted to know if you knew where Elsa might be."

"Elsa's gone?" Olaf sounded panicked. "Why would she leave without me? Oh! Maybe she just forgot!" Olaf jumped off the recliner. "Maybe if I leave now I can catch up to her!"

Jack grabbed Olaf before he could run off. "Woah! Easy there, fella. Elsa didn't leave you. She's just wandering around somewhere. I just don't know where. I was hoping you'd know, but I think I already got my answer."

"Oh." Jack set Olaf back on top of the recliner. "Hey, Jack. Do you...have a crush on her?"

Jack felt his face flush with embarrassment from Olaf's question. "What do you mean?"

"You kind of give her this funny look like she's ice cream. Kinda like this." Olaf extended his arms downwards, held them together, and gave Jack a puppy dog-eye look as if he was in love. "Plus you look like a tomato right now."

Jack nudged Olaf. "I don't look at her like that," he denied.

"Oh come on now, lover boy!" Olaf gave Jack a light punch to the arm. "What's not to like about Elsa?"

"That's the thing. I don't know much about her," Jack said.

"So get to know her," Olaf suggested.

"I don't know how," Jack confessed.

"Oh that's easy!" Olaf beamed. "Talk to her. Ask about her likes, her dislikes. Maybe see if she has a hobby. Go out and play. I got her name from playing with her and Marshmallow." he chuckled recalling the first time he encountered Elsa. One moment he was just waking up and the next (and first) thing he ever saw was Elsa flying and getting buried in the snow while playing tag with Marshmallow.

Olaf made it sound easy, but it was more complicated than that. Jack wished it was that simple, but he wasn't exactly smooth with the girls, considering his first encounter with Elsa. He couldn't even introduce himself properly without forgetting his own name.

Jack chuckled. "Okay, Olaf. I think you're too tired to think straight. Back to bed with you."

"Think what?" Olaf yawned as he laid back on the recliner. Jack didn't even need to answer his question since the tiny snowman fell asleep the next second.

He never really thought about it, but he really didn't know much about Elsa. He was certain though that she wouldn't just leave Olaf behind since he was one of her only two companions. The thought kind of saddened him because it was obvious that Olaf and Marshmallow were her only friends considering she travelled a lot. Making friends would start to seem pointless if you were gonna end up leaving. He could only imagine just how lonely that must be.

It made the winter spirit wonder just what kind of life Elsa had before she decided to take on this life as a lonely traveller. Has she ever had friends from this Arendelle place before? Did she have a family or was she an orphan? What could have drawn her to run away from her life there? Did she perhaps have enemies?

There were so many questions that ran through Jack's mind about Elsa. Even though she hardly talked about herself, it didn't seem like she had much to hide. The girl did answer some questions the guardians threw at her but they were very minor questions that hardly related to anything too personal about her. She hardly mentioned her life back in Arendelle but that was probably because she didn't like talking about herself too much.

It was very rare for a human to possess powers like Elsa. Most people like them did exist but they were rare. The kind of people most the Guardians were were special. Although they possessed humanoid features, none of them were actually human. Most of them did start off as humans in an early life, but that was only until their master, Magnus, gave them a new one. No one among the guardians except North has ever met Magnus in person. But they all trusted him because he gave them all a second chance in life and they were all indebted to him because of it. Especially Jack. If it wasn't for Magnus' guidance, his soul would've suffered complete oblivion after dying from his first life. Yes, he did die, but he wasn't exactly a ghost either since he could feel and touch things. He was almost like those mythological vampires except he didn't need or have a thirst for blood or fangs.

Although Elsa hasn't had a near death experience, Jack wondered if Magnus would welcome her. North did agree that she would make a great addition to their team especially with her talent. As second-in-command, he could call the shots easily since Magnus trusted him to lead the Guardians.

Jack wondered if perhaps Elsa knew more people like her. Then again if she did, she probably would've stuck with them instead of playing the lonely traveller.

The white haired boy had to admit. He experienced an attraction to her almost immediately when he first met her. That's what made "being friends with her" a little difficult for him. His mind would say friends, but his heart was telling him he wanted more than that. Making friends was no problem for him. But trying to impress a girl was something totally different. That was something Olaf didn't understand based on the sort of advice the he tried to give Jack about Elsa.

There was no doubt Elsa was beautiful. She even had an affinity for ice just like him. Although they had their similarities there was still some differences between them when it came to their personalities. Elsa may appear reserved with her emotions, but she had an adventurous side of her that he really liked it. The fact that she didn't show too much of her emotions made her somewhat mysterious and Jack liked that. Even though she didn't express herself too much, she still found him funny, which he appreciated. Of course since they only met Jack had no intention of jumping into anything quick. He intended to get to know her first and start out as friends by doing so. That wass if he was able to convince her to stay with them and join the Guardians.

From outside the window, the white haired boy saw snow falling from the sky. It was a full moon tonight so the sky looked brighter than usual at night especially when the tiny snowflakes reflected off its moonlight. It gave Jack a clue as to wear Elsa might be. He wanted to get to know her and there was no better time like the present.

* * *

 _I shouldn't be here…_

Elsa kept telling herself over and over again. Why she let herself get talked into staying with other people, she didn't know. The whole reason why she ran away to begin with was to get away from everyone around her. She prefered being on her own. After being on the run for a long while, she got used it. It was tough but she somehow managed.

Still, she couldn't lie that she enjoyed the hospitality the Guardians provided. It's been a long time since someone invite her over let alone offer her a place to stay. Some of them even suggested that she'd live with them. Even though she had no intentions of accepting the offer, she appreciated the gesture.

 _But why did I let them talk me into staying with them?_ Elsa asked herself.

Maybe it was because unlike most people, the Guardians treated her like she was one of them even after they witnessed her powers in action. Of course, they were all gifted individuals but that didn't stop them from welcoming her and even going as far as giving her a home.

But if Elsa was being honest with herself, what drew her to say yes was the winter spirit, Jack. There was something about him that she found comfort in. The kind of comfort she hardly felt around anyone because almost no one could really relate to her having a gift to manipulate ice. Especially the way he treated Olaf like he was no different from him. Jack may have a childish side, but he did have a kind heart that made Elsa feel warm.

While letting these thoughts cloud her mind, Elsa watched snowflakes dance around her finger tips. She was sitting by a frozen lake not too far from the Guardian's headquarter. Since the lake was solid as ice, she couldn't stone skip like most people would at a lake. So instead she played with her magic, admiring the beauty it possessed when she released it. Frost would emerge from her fingertips before the ice would float away to create a swirly pattern.

"So was the couch to lumpy?" She heard Jack from behind just before he sat himself down next to her.

"I didn't think you'd still be up." Elsa formed a snowball in her hand and threw as far as she could towards the lake.

"That was weak," Jack teased. He formed his own snowball and blew on it, making it glow blue.

The winter spirit threw the snowball in the same direction Elsa threw hers and it flew so far it actually disappeared into the sky. "Hah!" Jack flexed one of his arms even though it was covered by his sleeve.

He turned to look at Elsa, but he found himself literally face to face with a cold snowball. His eyes were shut to keep any of the snow particles from getting to his eyes. The only thing he could hear was Elsa's adorable laughter at the sight of him.

"How's that for weak?" the blond girl asked.

Jack stood up from where he was sitting while wiping off the snow from his face. "You're gonna pay for that, Ice Quee-,"

Another snowball whacked him in the face with enough force to throw him back. He landed on his back and sunk two inches into the snow.

"Ice Queen: 2. Bo Peep: 0," Elsa laughed.

Jack wiped the snow off his face. "I think I prefer 'frosty' at this point," he groaned, sitting up. This was a side of Elsa Jack didn't expect. And he certainly didn't mind it at all.

"Is that all you got, Jack?" Elsa taunted.

Jack chuckled as he got on his feet. He casually patted the snow off his shoulders before he looked at her. "Just remember. You asked for it!"

Jack summoned a storm of snow and directed it to Elsa. The blonde girl shielded herself with her arms, giving a muffled squeal when she felt bits of cold hitting her face. The force of the wind joined with the snow blizzard sent her flying back into a large snow hill. Her whole body disappeared beneath the snow and left her silhouette shape on the surface.

Elsa popped out of the snow, spitting out any traces of ice that fell into her mouth. Her hair looked almost white from all the snow that sprinkled her pale tresses. Jack laughed as he flew over to her and landed a few yards away just to a put a safe distance between them.

"Not bad.," Elsa chuckle while pulling herself out of the snow. Once she was on her feet she raised both her arms. The energy from the snow she summoned was make her hair float in the air as if she was underwater. "You wanna play hardball? I'm game."

Elsa smirked at him and released the flow of snow, letting it leave a beautiful, intricate swirl pattern that flew towards the winter spirit like a whip. Jack got on his feet and took off into the air, dodging Elsa's attack on time.

"You're have to do better than that, ice queen!" He taunted.

The winter spirit flew through the loops, Elsa's magic made. She laughed in amusement as she watched Jack play around the snow she made. "Don't you dare hold back, Jack!" Elsa warned as she began to shoot snow at the winter spirit.

Under normal circumstances, Elsa wouldn't freely play with her magic like this. The last time some played with the snow she made, it ended in disaster. Tonight though she felt like she had better control of her powers so she figured she was much safer now thanks to her constant training with Marshmallow.

"You sure?" Jack asked, floating in one spot. "I mean, I can fly and you can't."

Elsa raised a brow at him and gave him a crooked smile. The ground started to rumble. Suddenly an enormous hand-like figure made from snow popped up from the ground and wrapped its fingers around the unsuspecting boy.

"What the hell?" Jack grunted as he struggled to get out of the snow hand's grip.

Before he could try anything else, he found himself flying down towards the ground when the hand threw him down. He landed into snow with a thump and ended up buried completely in the snow.

Elsa smiled, feeling pleased with herself. She waited for Jack to get up from the snow but the snow around the area where he disappeared into didn't even budge. The girl started to feel concerned for Jack's well being. Maybe she went a little overboard with her magic and hurt Jack. She quickly ran to the place where he ended up buried after a few seconds, hoping she didn't hurt him.

"Jack?" She called out as she started digging into the snow. There was no answer. "Jack?" She tried once more.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her. "Hah!" Jack yelled as he popped out of the snow. Elsa's heart jumped as she squealed from Jack's surprise appearance.

"Gotcha!" He yelled before pulling Elsa down into the snow with him.

"Jack!" She screamed, unable to accept that he tricked her.

Elsa attempted to roll on top of him so she had the domination over him, but it only started a brief roll over war between the two of them. Both of them kept laughing in the snow as they rolled over and fought for dominance over each other.

In the end, Jack had the final laugh since he managed to pin her arms down when got on top of her. "Surrender, Ice Queen," he chuckled.

It felt like her heart felt into her stomach as she stared up into Jack's blue orbs. She was well aware that he was on top of her. And that's what made her nervous. Never once in her life has she ever been in a position like this with a guy. Hell, she had yet to have her first kiss. Yes, this was just a game they were playing but Elsa and Jack weren't kids. They were both young hot-blooded adults. And a lot of things could happen between two adults. Especially a girl and boy alone.

If there was something Elsa was good at though, it was hiding her emotions. She managed to keep her composure despite the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Never," she answered back immediately.

The blonde girl discreetly twirled her fingers and formed a snowball and directed it to hit the side of Jack's face.

"What the-" he started

The small distraction was all Elsa needed when she felt his grip on her loosen, she pushed him off her and moved on top of him. Quickly, she flicked her wrist out and released a stream of ice to encase both of Jack's wrists, pinning them against the snow covered floor. Jack struggled to get out, but his efforts were futile. Elsa raised her hand, created a snowball, and smashed it into Jack's face without causing any pain.

Jack spat out some snow that managed to seep into his mouth. "Alright, alright! I surrender," he said, trying to hold back a laugh. "I surrender," he repeated. He let out a deep breath before speaking again. "God, woman! You're relentless."

Elsa laughed before she waved her hands over the ice cuffs that held Jack down to remove them. "I'm just...determined. That's all," she shrugged.

Once the winter spirit was free, she moved herself off him and laid next to him on the snow. Dead silence filled the air between them.

"That was fun," Jack commented to break the quiet.

"Yeah," Elsa agreed. "I can't even remember the last time I played like that."

It really was fun. Elsa couldn't deny that. The girl couldn't even remember the last time she had fun with someone that wasn't made of ice. She used to play with her sister, Anna, a lot when they were close, but after an incident, she distanced herself. Luckily her sister was alright, but it left Elsa traumatized.

"Why?" Jack asked curiously. "Parents never let you have any playtime?"

"I don't any parents," Elsa admitted. "Not anymore."

Jack didn't even need to put two and two together to figure out what she meant. "I'm sorry." He didn't mean to bring up that kind of topic, but it just happened.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago," Elsa said. "I've been over it for a while now."

"So you've really been on your own for a long time."

"You bet," Elsa confirmed rather cheerfully.

"Must've been pretty scary."

"Naw, it's been an adventure," she shrugged keeping her smile on.

Jack smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, you can join us now on our adventures."

"That would be nice...but I can't stay," she said gloomily.

"Why not?"

"Um...places to go, stuff to see." It was obvious Elsa was having trouble coming up with reasons.

"Come on. You know you want to stay," Jack nudged her. "We have Netflix, shampoo, and dare I say, all the food you can eat."

"Food?" She repeated, laughing. "You sure have a way with words, Jack. I guess one more night wouldn't hurt."

"Yes!" Jack fist pumped as he jumped to his feet. He offered her a hand to help. "We're gonna have so much fun! And I can't wait to see what you can really do when you let your powers loose!"

Elsa's eyes suddenly glowed blue before releasing an uncontrollable energy that she couldn't stop. Suddenly stalagmites entirely made from ice started emerging up from the snow in randomized areas near Jack.

"Ah! Hey!" Jack dodged one when it popped out on his left side. "Woah!" he screamed he dodged another that rose from his right.

One stalagmite emerged behind him and tore right through his sleeve, drawing blood from the back of his upper arm. Jack grunted when he felt a sharp pain from his arm from the sharp tip of the stalagmites. The sharp tip was stained with the winter spirit's blood. Jack didn't even know he could bleed until now.

"I'm sorry, Jack!" Elsa apologized, sounding panicked. "I'm so sorry!" She hit her head. "I'm so stupid! I thought I finally had it under control." It sounded like she was speaking to herself when she whispered.

"Please don't tell anyone!" she begged him.

This was the first time Jack had seen Elsa scared. It made a lot of sense now. She didn't have total control over her powers. He was starting to understand why she was hesitant to stay with them in the beginning. She was afraid that she might reveal her secret or hurt someone.

Despite the pain from the scratch, Jack was capable of ignoring it to show her he was alright so she could cease her worry. "Elsa, it's okay. You can't totally control your powers. It's no big deal," he tried to assure her.

"It's a huge deal!" Elsa disagreed. "You saw what just happened. I already hurt you!"

Jack raised his hands. "It's just a scratch. Really it's okay."

"But you're bleeding!"

"Relax," Jack said calmly. "It's not like I'm gonna die."

"Please promise you won't tell. Please promise me!" She begged.

"I won't."

"Swear it!" Elsa demanded. She almost looked angry but at the same time determined to make Jack swear to secrecy.

"Alright! Alright!" Jack had his hands up in surrender. "I promise I won't tell anyone. But seriously, it's okay. Even if the others found out, they'd still like you."

Elsa sighed, rubbing both her arms with her own hands. "You just wouldn't understand."

"Maybe not," Jack agreed. "But I can try to help you." He held a hand out to her. "Trust me."

Elsa looked at his hand, but didn't reach for it. It's not that she didn't trust him. She just didn't trust herself. Even when she thought she had better control of her powers, it was still just as bad. Her control hasn't improved the slightest even with all the training she had with Marshmallow.

"I don't even know if I can trust myself, Jack."

Jack sighed. "Then it looks like I'm just gonna have to take a risk and put my trust in you." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an embrace. "You can do it. Just watch," Jack assured her. "Come to practice tomorrow and you'll see. You may not have total control over your powers, but you do have a talent with them."

Elsa's heart was beating frantically in her chest, feeling the strange warmth and comfort of being in Jack's arms. For a moment, she had nearly forgotten about her worries. But it was only for a moment. Still, she found some peace just being comforted like this by Jack.

"Why do you think so?" she asked.

He simply answered, "Because I believe in you."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The Guardian's training ground was located beneath their headquarters. This entire base was an extension completely hidden underneath their basement by means of a secret entrance. It was probably the biggest room in their home. It also contained a second level below that had an obstacle course. The top floor had a wrestle ring, a shooting range, and the main panel to control the everything that aided the Guardians during their training session.

All the guardians were below on the second level to train in the obstacle course. As usual North and Sandy were in charge of the control panel that called the shots of what could happen in the obstacle course. They never went easy on anyone when they set up the attacks and duals in the obstacles. Every single run through the course was challenge for the Guardians. Although it was tough for their training, it made them better fighters in the end.

Bunnymund was the first to run through the course. It was an obstacle course almost as big as a football field and which was why it had it's own location below the training grounds. The course was computerize-engineered and was capable of being set to different climates and weather conditions. Hi-tech weapons like guns, lazer, and contraptions that launched frisbee-shaped grenades were hidden keenly throughout randomized parts of the obstacle course.

He ran through a desert-like field covered with hot sand and cactuses throughout the course. Despite having air conditioner in the room, the temperature around the field was set to a temperature similar in a humid, dry climate to give the Guardians a more realistic feel when going through their obstacles.

Bunnymund was near the end of his course. He just had to get through the last of his obstacles before he could reach the finish line. Giant metal fists pumped out of the ground in different places through the area where he ran. He didn't cease to run and somehow managed to dodge the giant fists coming at him from below. His lungs were starting to feel like they were on fire, but he wasn't gonna let that slow him down. He still had enough breath to get through his course and the finish line was so close.

When he got through that part of the obstacles, North turned on the next challenge in the obstacle. Lasers popped out of various artificial rocks and from below dead plants. They started shooting at Bunnymund as he approached. He moved in zig zag motions to dodge the lasers.

As he approached the last part of this obstacle, Bunnymund pulled out his boomerangs before he stopped in his tracks. The ground rumbled just before the floor beneath him split apart like the Red Sea. He quickly jumped to side for safety before he could fall through the opening.

Two humanoid robotic figures with guns came out of the ground where the floor separated. Bunnymund immediately threw his boomerang and sliced off one the the figure's arms, causing it to drop its weapon. The other one began to shoot its gun at Bunnymund without hesitation.

Jack felt someone tap his shoulder. He looked to his side to find out it was Elsa. "Is this even safe?" She asked him.

"It's a bit challenging, but you'll live," Jack answered.

"Live?" Elsa repeated.

"Usually first timers don't finish the course, but they push through as long as they can," he explained. "The most they get out of this course are burning lungs, sweat, and a few bruises."

"Well, that's comforting," Elsa replied sarcastically.

Her hand was gently grabbed out of nowhere by Jack and Elsa found herself blushing after a mini heart attack. He gave her a light squeeze to give her a sense of comfort, telling her that everything would be okay.

"You're gonna do great. Don't even worry about it." Toothiana spoke this time. "It doesn't matter if you screw it up." Her eyes widened slightly. "Not saying that you're gonna screw up, but I mean even if you-"

"Toothiana, ye'll make the poor lassie more nervous!" North called from the control panel.

Elsa bit her lip. She wasn't nervous because of the challenges the obstacle course would bring to her. She was nervous because she mentally calculated that there would be a 99 percent chance that she would lose control of her powers if she used them. This kind of training was different because she wasn't training with Marshmallow alone like she always did. She was around people who were watching her and was at a high risk of exposing her secret.

 _Keep it together,_ she kept telling herself mentally. _Don't lose control. Don't lose it. Control it. Control it. Don't lose control._

She kept chanting the last three words over and over as her heart kept beating vigorously in her chest. Subconsciously, she was squeezing Jack's hand almost like a stress ball.

It wasn't hard to miss the nervous expression on her face. Jack knew that Elsa was more nervous about losing control of her powers in front of his friends than facing the obstacle course. It's why he didn't mind her squeezing his hand. She was much stronger than he imagined though. Especially because her grip made a cracking sound from his knuckles. Thankfully though her grip on him wasn't considered painful. It was just an uncomfortable, but somewhat tolerable grip. If Jack was being honest with himself, he actually didn't mind the slightest that she was squeezing his hand especially cause it meant she was holding his hand.

"Jack, you can let go of me now," Elsa interrupted. "It's my turn."

Jack looked down at his hands, clutching onto Elsa's hand, which appeared more relaxed now. Before releasing her, he looked at the obstacle and saw Bunnymund was standing not to far from him with the two robots behind him torn apart from their battle which they apparently missed.

"Sorry," he said, releasing her.

Jack had to admit he was impressed that Bunnymund was able to take down his opponents so fast that they missed out on it just because they were distracted by small talk.

"Excellent!" Bunnymund exclaimed. "New course record."

"Duh. You're the first one to do the course," Jack pointed out.

Bunnymund gave him an annoyed expression. "Watch it, Frosty," he warned as he stowed his boomerangs back into their pouches dangling from his weapon belt.

"Two minutes and 13 seconds. Impressive! You did excellent, lad," North said.

Toothiana flew off towards Bunny and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You were more than excellent!" She pressed her cheek against his, ignoring moist feeling from his sweat. "You were glorious!" she said with a giggle.

Bunnymund's face was red and it wasn't because he was sweating. "Toothiana, you're hugging me," he whispered obviously embarrassed that she was hugging him in front of everyone.

"And I'm not done yet," she said without faltering her smile.

"Alright, Tooth. Alright." Bunnymund gently pushed her away from him before walking off. He went over to a cupboard and pulled out a towel to wipe off his sweat. While wiping his face, he took a seat. "See if any of you could beat that," he challenged while gazing at Jack.

Jack smirked. "You're on, bunny boy!"

"'On,' is gonna have to wait," Toothiana chuckled.

Jack raised a confused brow. "What do you mean?"

"It's not your turn, idiot!" Bunnymund answered for Toothiana.

"Alright, Elsa!" North called as he started resetting the obstacle. "Are ye ready? Let's see what you can do!"

Elsa sighed as she walked up to the starting point of the course. "I just hope you're ready to see it," she whispered softly so no one could hear her other than herself.

The blonde girl nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You can do it, Elsa," Jack whispered from behind her, telling her he was the one who had touched her. "I believe in you."

He gave her a wink before he went back to join the other Guardians. Elsa had to admit that her heart jumped when he gave her that wink. She felt her face blush red and was thankful that he quickly went back to the other Guardians before he could even see her reaction.

"You will be glorious!" Toothiana cheered from afar.

They continued to cheer her on until North started the timer. "Counting down. Good luck, Elsa!" he called out as the countdown began.

 _3\. 2. 1!_

"Don't lose control" she whispered to herself one last time before she ran to start her course.

* * *

"Looks like we'll be needing a new obstacle field, eh, Sandy?" North chuckled to Sandy who nodded in agreement.

The course set for Elsa was a tropical, beach island. The girl was doing great throughout the course set before her. She was struggling from time to time though just to get through the obstacles she encountered. If the situation called for it, she'd crush the weapons that shot fire at her with huge icebergs she created. But her training did give her some foundation. North did see a lot of potential with her when he witnessed her take down that oversized snowman. The girl really did have a talent. She was honestly rough around the edges, but she was good for a rookie.

The other guardians down below were cheering vigorously for the blonde beginner. They all understood how nerve wrecking it was going through their first training session in the obstacle course. It was tough even for beginners, but they all knew North trained them that way so they don't create any false hopes that their enemies out there would restrain or hold back on them. He wanted to open their eyes and show everyone how tough and cruel this world really was through these training tactics. It sounded harsh, but it made them grow into strong warriors.

"Come on, Elsa! You can do it!" Jack cheered continuously.

"Yes! You got this, Elsa!" Toothiana yelled with a fist pump while she was airborne.

"Um...go, Elsa?" Bunnymund acted as if he didn't know how to cheer.

Toothiana nudged him with her elbow. "Come on! Is that the best you got?" She scolded.

"Do I look like the cheering type?" Bunnymund asked sarcastically.

Although Elsa appreciated their gesture, she could hardly pay attention to their cheering because it felt like some machine was trying to kill every second. A laser destroyed the rock she was standing on, but she jumped off before she could fall with the new pile of rubble. As she dropped towards the body of water, she waved her hand and froze the waters. She managed to land on her feet without slipping on the iced waters.

A large metal fist similar to what Bunnymund faced earlier, punched through the ice floor from under her. Elsa screamed as the impact of the punch, sent her flying ten feet off the ground. She quickly raised her hand and summoned a large chunk of ice from the iced waters. It levitated towards her so she could land safely on top of it. She kept the ice airborne and rode the floating iceberg as she willed it to move towards the next part of the course.

As she quickly approached another section of the obstacle, a laser gun shot right through the iceberg she was riding, shattering it into pieces. Elsa quickly waved her again and created a large hill of snow for her to safely land on. When she landed, her body sunk deep into the snow. Almost half of her body was buried.

 _Like a pillow,_ she thought as she pulled herself out of the pile of snow.

Once she was out she jumped off the hill and landed on the sandy floor, keeping her guard up. She ran for the finish line which led her to an area completely covered with palm trees, trees, and...well, more trees. It was only now that she noticed she was sweating from the heat of this tropical climate. Her forehead was glittering from sweat that trickled down to the side of her face. Heat was never really a friend to her. In fact, the girl prefered the cold weather over heat anytime.

"How do those people do this?" she whispered aloud. There was no chill with these obstacles. It was like one attack after another. She couldn't even relax for a second to take a breather. Even though it was just a training, it felt like every machinery around here wanted to kill her. From this point, Elsa would have rather faced actual nature or Marshmallow.

 _It's okay, Elsa, you're almost there,_ she told herself. _You can do this_

The ground below her started to rumbling. She nearly lost her balance, but kept herself from falling by grabbing the closest palm tree nearby. The ground split the same way it did for Bunnymund. As expected, two humanoid robots came out of the opening armed. One had the same gun, but the second one had a crossbow.

The one with the crossbow immediately fired its first arrow at Elsa. She blocked her face with her arms, expecting the arrow to pierce her in the face. But nothing touched her. Peeking through her arms, she saw a wall of ice in front of her that stopped the arrow. The pointed edge was only two inches away from her face. Although she didn't mean to create the ice wall, she was glad it happened. This was the one and only time Elsa was glad her powers did something out of her control.

The other robot that possessed a gun ran around the wall to get a clear shot of her. Once it did, it aimed the gun to her. Elsa quickly released a stream of ice that whipped itself towards the robot. She willed the ice to sharpen at the tip so it became a stalagmite and then shot it through the chest area of the robot.

Out of nowhere a sharp pain hit the side of Elsa's arm. Her hand automatically covered the area where she felt the sting. She looked down at her hand and found blood staining her palm. She looked down at her sleeve and found it torn with blood smeared on the fabric.

Looking over her shoulder, she found the other robot with the crossbow, firing arrows at her. "You're gonna pay for that," She warned it, disregarding that it was an emotionless robot.

The blonde girl quickly raised her hand to create another ice shield to block the robot's following shots. She waved her hand towards the crossbow and froze the weapon with ice hard enough to keep the robot from pulling its trigger. The robot instantly detected that its weapon was no longer operational. It threw the dysfunctional weapon down and dashed towards Elsa.

It punched right through the ice wall Elsa created. She jumped back to avoid getting hit by its attack. The robot continued to pursue and continued to lunge its metal fists at her in a uppercut motion. Elsa waved her arms to create ice shields to block every punch the robot tried to land on her. Considering how it was able to punch right through that ice wall she created, it was pretty strong. So blocking its attack with her own hand was out of the question.

After many futile attempts, the robot finally jabbed a punch straight towards Elsa. She managed to block it with another ice wall, but the robots strong fist went right through it and made contact with her chest. Elsa was knocked back a good five feet from where she stood. It was only when she finally landed that she felt the bruising pain in her abdomen.

 _If he punched any harder I'd have a hole down here_ , she thought with a painful groan.

Ignoring the pain, Elsa got up with an arm over her stomach. It felt like the air was knocked out of her, but she refused to show any signs of pain in her face. She wasn't gonna give up just yet. She was determined to get through this obstacle even if it was only her first time.

* * *

Jack's worries only heightened when Elsa disappeared into the jungle area. The girl was doing just fine and she didn't appear to be in panic at all. If she was, Jack could hardly tell. Somehow she was able to overcome the offenses each machinery threw at her with the help of her powers. He was somewhat worried about her, but he still had some hope since she had some experience in training with her snowmen. No matter, if something was to happen, the Guardians would come in to help. Jack wouldn't be too surprised if she didn't finish the course today since none of the guardians ever got through their course during their first try. Even he failed his first attempt to get through the obstacles.

Even though he couldn't see Elsa anymore, they could hear sounds from her battle with the robots. It wasn't hard to guess she was fighting them because of the gun shots. The humanoid robots were the only enemies in the field that carried guns.

Sounds that followed after the gunshots were loud banging and the sound of snow and icicles cracking from Elsa's powers. The only part of the battle that was visible to everyone was the blue light that occasionally flashed from the large energy Elsa released whenever she used her powers.

North and Sandy were the only ones who could see what was going on around the battle ground even when Elsa wasn't visible to them. This was thanks to the hidden cameras keenly hidden throughout the entire course.

Jack looked up at North and Sandy, fighting the urge to go up there and watch Elsa himself. Even if he wanted to simply check on her, he knew all too well that North wouldn't allow him. He only allowed Sandy because when it was North's turn to run through the obstacle, Sandy would take the reigns on the panel since North trusted him the most, being the techno genius he was.

"Jack, relax," Toothiana comforted him with a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. "She'll be fine. What could happen?"

 _A shit ton could happen_ , he thought, reminiscing about last night's incident.

No one other than Jack knew about Elsa's inability to completely control her powers. Jack did believe she could do it, but he knew that sometimes her emotions could trigger her powers. It was mostly the negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or stress that could easily trigger them.

Jack honestly wanted her to tell the other Guardians that Elsa couldn't fully control her powers, but he wanted them to know under her own terms. She would no doubt be crushed if the Guardians found out unintentionally especially during her first training.

"Ay, mate," Bunnymund agreed with Tooth. "She may be a pain in the ass but she's a tough cookie."

"Yeah. Even if she messes up, it won't matter. We all didn't do so well our first time," Toothiana said. "Not that I'm saying she'll mess up. What I mean is even if she blows it, we'll-," Toothiana cut herself off when she saw the way Jack looked at her. "Shutting up now." She smiled nervously.

Bunnymund chuckled, draping an arm over Toothiana's shoulder. "There comes a time when you have to."

Everyone's attention was drawn to something that flew over of the palm trees. Like a shooting star, it flew over Jack, Toothiana, and Bunnymund and crashed into the wall. Everyone stared at it and immediately realized it was one of the robots. It was missing all its limbs and electricity was sparking from the four areas where all its limbs were supposed to be. Its head all the way down to its chest area, it was covered with ice frostings. And the stalactite that stuck through it's chest was deep enough to impale it into the wall while it dangled 15 feet above the ground.

The white haired boy felt his mouth drop. "Woah."

A coughing from behind turned everyone's attention back to the obstacle course. They all saw a disheveled Elsa crossing the finish line. Her ponytail was halfway undone. Bits and pieces of what was probably her only shirt were torn, but her pants were slightly in tact still. Through some tears in her shirt, Jack could distinctly see a bruise in her abdomen. On her left arm was a large tear, revealing a large open cut with blood staining the fabric.

For a moment, everyone was silent as they stared at the blonde girl. She was in fact the very first among them to get through the course on their first try. This was a huge shocker to all of them, especially Bunnymund. Although he didn't need to say it, everyone knew that he wasn't expecting Elsa to get through the course on her first try. He had to admit he was both impressed and jealous all at once, but he was never gonna admit that.

"Wow!" Toothiana broke the silence. "Elsa! You were glorious! I can't believe you got through the course on your first try."

"Yeah! You crushed that obstacle," Jack glanced at the destroyed, ice-filled field with broken pieces of machinery scattered throughout the entire area. "Literally," he added with a chuckle.

Elsa surprised him when she pulled him into a hug. Because she was shorter than him, she tip toed so she could whisper into his ear. "I did! You said I could do it and you were right."

Jack felt like his face was on fire when he whispered those words to him. His heart was beating so rapidly in his chest that he prayed she couldn't feel it breathing even if her chest was pressed against his. Even though he felt weird being embraced by Elsa, a part of him was still happy that he was able to help relieve her fear somehow of losing control of herself.

He pulled away from the hug and gently took hold of her injured arm. "Let's patch this up," he said, tearing a piece of his shirt from the hem.

"You didn't have to do that," Elsa said with a flushed face as he rolled up her torn sleeve to give the cut more exposure.

"It's no big deal," Jack insisted as he bandaged the piece of his shirt around the cut. "There," he said as he secured it with a knot.

Elsa smiled at him gratefully. She couldn't help but feel happy. It has been a long while since someone showed some concern and care for her. Because she travelled alone, no one was ever there to help her whenever she accidentally injured herself. She wanted to get used to gestures like this, but she knew it wouldn't be such a good idea for her to get attached if she had no intention of staying for good.

"A little rough around the edges, but you got some real talent, lassie," North commented as he and Sandy approached the group.

"You really think so?" Elsa asked.

"With some training, you'll be even better than you are now." North smiled to show he really meant it.

"Thanks." Elsa's face flushed with embarrassment. She wasn't sure how to take compliments because it wasn't something she received on a everyday basis, being the lone traveler she was.

It seemed like she found a place where she could possibly be accepted. Elsa wasn't 100% sure on it yet, but it was a potential home to her as long as her control stayed in tact. Maybe even after some time and training, she'd have complete control over powers at last. The Guardians did offer her a home here. It wasn't a definite yes, but the chances of her deciding to stay here did increase.

"So does that mean you wish to stay with us?" Toothiana asked, obviously hoping Elsa would say 'yes.'

"Not exactly," Elsa answered honestly. "But I did tell Jack I'll stay a little longer."

"Did you now?" Bunnymund raised a teasing eyebrow at Jack.

Jack raised his hand and pointed his middle finger up to flip Bunnymund off discreetly, which only made the purple haired man laugh some more.

"Of course, if it's okay with you," Elsa added.

"Are you kidding? Of course we are! In fact, I can speak for everyone when I say we couldn't be more than happy for you to stay," Toothiana giggled excitedly.

"God, Tooth, when was the last time you had some girl-ish bonding time?" Bunnymund asked.

"Around 8 to 10 years? Give or take," Toothiana answered.

"So you're the only girl living here?" Elsa asked.

"Not anymore," Toothiana smiled at her.

"Well, it's not definite yet if she's staying yet so don't get your hopes up, Toothiana," North reminded her.

"You're right," Toothiana agreed glumly, but she perked up almost instantly. "That's why I must salvage the time we have!" She ran by Elsa's side and looped her arm through Elsa's.

"Ow! Easy!" Elsa grunted. "Bruising everywhere."

"Exactly! So we're gonna go relax at a spa," Toothiana beamed as she started to drag Elsa towards the staircase. "I'll have her all prettied up for tonight's party."

 _Party?_ Elsa thought.

"Toothiana," North started calmly, "I know you want her join us, but-"

"The party tonight is in honor of the Guardians _and_ the Guardians alone," Bunnymund finished for the old Russian.

"Well, I'm not letting her spend the night alone with while we go to a party," Toothiana said.

"I can stay with her," Jack offered.

"All the Guardians are required to attend, lad," North reminded him. "It is in honor of us and Magnus demands it."

"Elsa goes or I stay to keep her company tonight," Toothiana insisted.

"Toothiana, it's okay," Elsa said. "I was never really the party type anyway."

The blond girl had no desire to attend a party whatsoever since there were too many people there. Despite keeping control over her powers during her run through the obstacle course, it didn't necessarily mean that she had complete control over her powers yet.

"Nonsense!" Toothiana exclaimed. "I already made my choice."

North sighed, knowing there was no arguing with Toothiana. "Alright. I will call the mayor and let him know that we have an extra guest coming. Hopefully he'll be alright with it."

"Wonderful!" Toothiana beamed. "Now let's go to the spa and get pampered for tonight!"

"Wait, Toothiana! I don't even have money for a spa," Elsa admitted.

"Don't worry. I shall treat you!" Toothiana looked back to give her a reassuring smile.

Elsa looked back at Jack giving him a pleading look to help her. As much as she would've liked to enjoy bonding with another girl since it has been awhile for Elsa, she didn't want to be around too many people. If she lost control especially around Toothiana then not only would the Guardians know her secret, but she could hurt more people than she already had. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't be alone with Toothiana. The only other person she felt comfortable being around was Jack and that was only because he was the only one among them that knew her secret.

Jack caught on with Elsa's pleading look. "Wait, Tooth!" he called out. "Training isn't over!"

Toothiana didn't stop dragging Elsa. "We train everyday," she answered back. "I can spare one day." And the two girls disappeared up the staircase.

Jack sighed, knowing he had to somehow steal Elsa away from Toothiana. And he had a feeling wasn't gonna be easy.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hello, my bum chums! Did you enjoy this chapter? Yes? No? Maybe so? LOL!  
I'm having fun writing this story! I hope you guys will like the turnout of this storyline.  
My goal is to release a new chapter every week. If I'm lucky maybe 2 or 3 but that might happen only in a blue moon since I am a working, college student. LOL!**

 **So what do you think so far about the story? Do let me know what you think in the reviews below! I'd love to hear your thoughts out! 3**

 **Well, I shall see you guys in the next chapter. Until then! Mwah! 3333**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jack knew that Elsa may not have lost control during her practice, but that didn't guarantee that she had better control over her powers now. There was still a high risk of exposing her secret to Toothiana and other people around her. Not to mention someone could get hurt if he didn't do anything to try and get her away from the public. He still recalled the sharp pain of the ice that sliced through his sleeve, cutting him in the process the previous night. Although she didn't mean to be, Elsa was no doubt dangerous if she wasn't in control her of own powers. Last night's incident was only one thing. Jack didn't even want to imagine what else could happen if she lost control while exposed to so many people.

"Well, looks like Tooth likes the new girl," Bunnymund stated.

"Aye, lads," North agreed. "Would be a shame if she decided not to stay. It would be nice for Toothiana to have a female companion who can relate to her better than we can."

 _So does this mean you and Magnus are gonna let her_ _stay_ _with us and make this her home?_ Sandy moved his hands and his fingers in different directions to give North his response.

Sign language was his way of communicating since he was mute, but North was the only one in the group who could read sign language. Both Bunnymund gave up since there was so much to memorize, but Jack managed to learn a few basics.

"Aye, I have spoken to Magnus last night and he told me she is welcome to stay, but not permanently just yet," North said while giving Sandy some signs from time to time with his hands.

 _Is Magnus not sure yet about letting her stay with us?_ Sandy responded with more movements with his hands.

"No, it's a definite answer," North responded to his mute friend. "Magnus said that we need to make sure she can be trusted before we decide to make this her permanent home. She is after all still a stranger to us and we only knows things based on what she told us last night."

 _So as long as she trains with us, she is welcome into our house?_ The blonde mute replied again with more hand movements.

"Yes, Magnus said the condition for her to stay for a bit is to keep up with the training," North answered the blonde man. "Magnus wants us to observe her carefully and see exactly what she's capable of with her powers. He seemed pretty interested when I told her that she was still human."

Jack knew that would be impossible since Elsa was determined to keep her secret from them for a long time. A part of him wished that she would just admit to them that she didn't have complete control over powers so they could help her in anyway they could. He was confident that they could help, but she was just too frightened to even think about how they'd respond to her. If Jack had the chance to, he would tell them. But it wasn't his secret to tell and he was a man of his word.

Under normal circumstances, Jack would've felt more excited than he already did about the news that Magnus approved Elsa's staying here for more than one night, but the worry he felt for her overpowered it. Toothiana being the stubborn one wouldn't let him take Elsa off her hands since she obviously wanted to have a girl's day out with her. Elsa was obviously nervous about going out alone with Toothiana and that was bad enough to make the girl lose control of her magic. Not to mention they needed to find a way out of the party to prevent Elsa from attending since there would be a huge crowd of people around. He was gonna have to worry about that later though. Right now, he needed to focus on getting Elsa away from Toothiana. Jack needed leverage and he could only think of one thing-well, person.

"Bunnymund," he called to the purple haired man.

"What, Frosty?" Bunnymund asked as if Jack interrupted his train of thought.

"I have a favor," Jack replied.

Bunnymund raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"

"Let's take this outside," Jack suggested.

North cleared his throat to get their attention. "Training isn't over, laddies."

"We train almost everyday," Jack said. "We can spare one day."

North and Sandy both gave Jack an odd look and then looked at each other. Toothiana was the only in the group who encouraged a break day from their daily training. Jack on the other hand was one of the few who didn't mind training everyday. In fact, he usually insisted on training everyday ever since his first fail on the obstacle course. It was a very rare scenario for him to actually suggest a day off from training.

Before North could say anymore Jack ran for the stairs, knowing Bunnymund would follow him. Normally, Bunnymund would just dismiss Jack, but he was very curious to know what kind of favor Jack had to ask from him since Jack rarely asked him for any help. If Jack was asking him for help, he must've been desperate, and Bunnymund wanted to know why. So he followed the winter spirit up the stairs.

Both individuals remained silent until they we're out of the basement. It didn't take much for Bunnymund to figure that Jack didn't want North or Sandy to hear his favor since he wanted to talk about it outside. Just what was this winter spirit up to?

Once Jack and Bunnymund we're out of the training grounds and the headquarters, Bunnymund broke the silence by asking, "Alright, Frosty, what's going on?"

Jack scratched his head, trying to quickly come up with a reason to give Bunnymund after asking him for help to separate Elsa from Toothiana. "It's Elsa," he started, unsure where he was gonna go from there. "I…," he trailed off unsure what to say.

 _Goddammit! Think of something,_ he thought to himself.

"You what?" Bunnymund urged. "Out with it, Frosty!" The impatience in his voice was evident.

"I don't know how to say it!" Jack snapped.

Bunnymund facepalmed himself. "Oh for fuck's sake, mate! Just admit to me that you wanna hook up with her."

"What?" Jack felt a tug at his chest.

"You obviously like the girl, Frosty. I'm not stupid," Bunnymund continued. "Have you had sex yet?" he asked in a teasing whisper.

"What the fuck, Bunnymund!" Jack punched the purple haired man on the shoulder as his face turned red from embarrassment. "I just met her!"

Bunnymund laughed at Jack's reaction. "Sex always works. You rock her world so hard with your immortal sex and she'll be yours forever."

"Even if that was the case, I wouldn't know if she liked me back. I don't even know one thing about girls other than their monthly rampage," Jack explained.

"There's only one way you can learn," Bunnymund said. "Experience."

Jack wasn't sure where this was going, but it was better than having to tell Bunnymund about Elsa's secret. He had to just let the chips fall where they may and play along. "Okay so I do like her," he admitted. "But this isn't just about the...sex," he felt weird saying the word in front of Bunnymund of all people, "or any tricks. I want her to want me on her own terms."

"Wow, Frosty. That actually sounded very mature and grown up," Bunnymund said sarcastically.

Jack shrugged. "It's not like I'm not getting any older."

"Alright. Jokes aside. What do you want, Frosty?"

"I need your help getting Elsa away from Toothiana," Jack answered.

"You're being selfish," Bunnymund teased. "You'll break Tooth's heart."

"Not if you're the one getting her attention," Jack said.

"So let me get this straight," Bunnymund said. "You want me to distract Toothiana so you can have a date with Elsa?"

"I wouldn't call it a date exactly," Jack tried to explain.

"Well, personally, I feel like it's too fast, Frosty, to jump to a date," Bunnymund admitted, ignoring Jack's statement. Jack mentally agreed with Bunnymund, but he just kept playing along with the date excuse since it was a good cover up. "But I'm not your father so who am I to tell you what to do?" he continued. "But if I do agree to help you separate Tooth from Elsa, what do I get in return? I don't do favors."

Jack sighed. "How about I stop calling you 'bunny boy' for a whole month?"

Bunnymund smirked at his offer. "If you include a 'buy-me' meal for a month then you have a deal, mate." He held his hand out to the white haired boy.

Usually Bunnymund was stingy when it came to making deals, but Jack didn't have much to offer. This was a great deal for Bunnymund because it meant that he could make fun of Jack without any retaliations. Plus, free food was always worth something.

"Deal," Jack answered, grabbing Bunnymund's hand to shake it.

"Alright. Frosty Let's go get your girlfriend."

Jack punched his arm. "She's not my girlfriend!"

* * *

"Toothiana, I can't just accept your offer," Elsa insisted. "It doesn't feel right."

"Nonsense! How can we pretty you up for tonight if you don't have a dime on you?" Toothiana asked while inspecting her from head to toe. "No offense."

Elsa stole a glance at one of the wall mirrors in the spa. Her hair was still disheveled from training. Although her hair was long, there were a lot of split ends that made the ends of her hair look like a dry paintbrush. Her face was shiny from sweat and there were dark circles visible as a result from her staying up late the previous night. Now that she thought about it, she did look terrible in this sort of state. Actually in general, she looked terrible because she never had the time or money to maintain her looks. With how long she's been on the run, she hardly had time to have visits to the salon or spa to get facials and treatments.

"None taken," Elsa murmured. "But still, I just can't accept. It feels weird."

"I get it." Toothiana draped an arm over her shoulder. "You're just not used to this kind of courtesy. But I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. I insist so we're doing this."

"But are you even sure about the party?" Elsa asked. "I mean, North did say he'd call and ask about it, but what if it's not approved? What if I end up not going?"

The last thing Elsa wanted to do was be in a crowd of people during a party. And it was a party to honor the Guardians, which meant reporters would be there and everything that happened could be broadcasted into the news. If she lost control of her powers then the whole nation would see it. She had to think of some clever excuse to get out of this without looking suspicious. But how?

"Oh, trust me. A lot of people in this town are nice," Toothiana replied. "I even met the mayor and he seems very sweet. I wouldn't worry so much about it."

"I could just stay at the headquarters and train some more. I really don't mind," Elsa suggested. "Besides, North did say I'm a little rough around the edges. Maybe I can polish up some more by practicing."

"That is out of the question.," Toothiana responded. "I know you only met us yesterday, but I want you to already feel like you're part of the family."

That was the first Elsa had heard someone say that to her. It really warmed her up in the chest. "Why?" Elsa asked.

Toothiana smiled. "So it'll make it easier for you to say 'yes' to staying with us for good."

"Toothiana and Elsa?" A female voice called from the doorway right beside the front desk before Elsa could respond.

Toothiana raised her hand to get their attention. "That's us!"

Toothiana linked her arm around Elsa's arm and lead her to the back room where they followed the lady. The hallway was dimly lit and had three doors on each side. The last door at the very end of the hallway was the only restroom door. Music was played at a subtle volume throughout the rooms, but seemed to get louder the farther they walked in.

The lady gestured to the second door on the right. "Miss Elsa will be taken cared of in here. And Miss Toothiana this way with me."

Elsa looked at Toothiana who gave her a nod, gesturing her to go ahead into the room. She bit her lip and entered where she saw a different girl already inside preparing things for her spa session.

The new lady turned to greet Elsa with a friendly smile. "Welcome, Elsa. My name is Mia and I'll be taking care of you for this session." She picked up a towel and handed it to Elsa. "Please do strip down to put this on. You may leave your underwear on if you'd like. I just have to pick up some scrubs and I will be right back with you."

"Okay," Elsa nodded as she took the towel.

The lady smiled before she left Elsa alone in the room and shut the door behind. Once Elsa was alone, she took a glance around her dimly lit room. There was a certain aroma in the air that had a minty freshness that relaxed her. For a moment she almost forgot about the anxiety she felt because of the fear that she may lose control over her powers any second. Even the soft music playing was calming down her nerves a little. But Elsa couldn't let herself get carried away. She still had to remain on her guard.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. "Miss Elsa, are you ready?" Mia's familiar voice asked behind the door.

Elsa went over to the door and opened it. "Sorry, Mia. I have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh. Alright then." The lady stepped aside so Elsa could get by.

The platinum blonde turned right into the hallway and made her way to the bathroom. She looked the door behind her and went straight to the sink to turn on the cold water. Elsa splashed the water onto her face and took a deep breath as she felt the cold sensation of the tap water. She stared at her damp reflection in the mirror above the sinkt.

A part of her wished Jack was here right now to bail her out. He was the only one whom she felt comfortable being around after bonding with him a bit last night. Even after witnessing what her powers can do out of her control, he didn't pull away from her. Although Jack said he would be there for her and help her in anyway he could, Elsa knew damn well that she couldn't rely on him all the time. The harsh reality was that Jack couldn't always be there for her. She had to stay independent like she had always done for the past few years.

"Okay. Calm down. You can get through this. Just get it together and don't lose control," She whispered out loud. "You can do this."

As she reached for the faucet to shut off the water, a cold sensation drifted from her fingers. In an instant, the water running down the sink, was frozen completely. Elsa gasped, taking a step back from the sink.

Someone knocked at the door the next second. "Miss Elsa, are you okay?" Mia's voice asked behind the door.

"Uh, yeah! I'll be out in a second," Elsa replied while trying to keep her voice steady.

"I don't mean to rush you, ma'am, but you do have an hour only for your session. So please do hurry back," Mia suggested.

"Okay, I'm coming out," Elsa said while staring at the frozen tap water.

 _Why can't I do this?_ she thought to herself.

The platinum blonde tried desperately to think of a way out of this and so far she wasn't having any luck with ideas.

She finally stepped out of the bathroom and saw Mia outside, looking rather concerned for her. "Are you alright, ma'am?" She asked.

"Yeah," Elsa lied as she trotted down the hallway.

She bit her lip, feeling more nervous than ever. Her breathing was getting heavy as she got closer to her room. It was hard not to imagine herself setting off a storm in the room or creating stalagmites that may kill Mia.

There was a cold sensation at the tip of her fingers. Elsa looked down to find frostings encasing her fingertips. Her powers we're having a mind of their own. If she stayed here, she would definitely set off a blizzard or create more stalagmites. If she hurt another innocent person she wasn't sure if she'd be able to live with herself again. There was no other choice but for her to get out of this place. So without a second thought, she ran for for the door and heard Mia call to her.

"Sir! You can't go in there without an appointment!" That was the last thing she heard two seconds before she was out of the hallway.

The second she stepped out, she found herself running into someone's chest. They wrapped their arms protectively around her. Elsa looked up and her eyes met with two familiar sapphire orbs, glancing back at her with a relieved smile.

"Jack?" she asked.

"Found you," he chimed.

Elsa didn't even care how he knew she'd be here. She was just happy and relieved to see him when things were only seconds away from going downhill. Wrapping her arms around him, she returned the hug while trying to hold back the joyful tears.

"How'd you find me?" She asked.

"I'll explain later," Jack answered as he pulled away from the hug. He took her by the hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait! But what about Toothiana?" Elsa asked. "She's still in the back."

"Oh, don't worry. I already have that covered." Jack pointed his thumb back over his shoulder. "Bunnymund will keep her busy."

Elsa glanced over his shoulder and saw the purple haired man standing right behind Jack, looking grumpy as usual. It was only now that she actually noticed he was even here. What could Bunnymund possibly do to distract Toothiana? If there was an explanation, Elsa was too distracted to even think on it at the moment.

"Oh, okay then," she looked straight at Bunnymund and gave him a repressed smile. "Thanks, Bunnymund.

"Don't get use it," he spat back just before he a took a seat by the window. The purple haired man glanced at Jack and pointed a finger at him. "Don't forget, Frosty! You owe me for this!"

Jack shrugged in a sarcastic gesture. "How could I forget?"

After that he led Elsa out of the spa hand in hand. "Let's go this way," he said taking her to turn to a corner of the street.

The two of them walked together side by side in silence. Jack noticed Elsa looked distraught. She didn't seem as cheery as she did earlier during training. It was really bothering him that she wasn't happy for some reason. The look she had on her face was the same distraught look she had when she cut his arm on accident with her powers.

"What happened in there?" Jack asked.

Elsa bite her lip before she answered, "I almost lost control while I was in there."

"Did something serious happen?"

"I froze the tap water in the bathroom. And when I came out, I was feeling some kind of strong cold energy radiating from my fingers. I was trying to hold it back, but I couldn't. I couldn't control my powers. I just couldn't no matter how hard I tried resist!"

"Elsa-" Jack called to her.

"I could've hurt someone," she continued. "Someone could've gotten hurt because of me."

"Elsa," jack tried again.

"What if I also hurt Toothiana? And those ladies who were nice to me?" Elsa still went on.

Jack stepped in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Elsa!"

The girl was startled by Jack's sudden touch. She looked up at him and didn't see the playful boy she first met. Who she saw looking at her was a concerned friend with a serious look she never thought she'd see from someone like him.

"Listen to me," he continued after realizing he finally had her attention. "You didn't hurt anyone. I won't lie to you, Elsa. You could have. But you didn't. If you ask me that's definitely a step up to your improvement."

"I was only able to stop, because you came and distracted me," Elsa said. "If you hadn't shown up then someone could've gotten hurt."

"I didn't say you we're there yet. But you're one step forward. I know you still don't have full control. But you can't keep doubting yourself. Instead of trying so hard to repress these powers you have to learn to control it," Jack explained.

"But how? How can I learn? I tried so hard to train myself with Marshmallow for so long, but I still don't have full control," Elsa said.

"Well, you can start by not doubting yourself anymore," Jack said. "The easiest person to lie to is yourself. Even if you tell yourself you can do it, it won't matter if there is a shred of doubt in your heart. From what I have observed, your emotions releases energy that becomes the ice you control. To put it shortly your emotions can fuel your powers. So even a tiny speck of doubt can make a difference. You have to stop doubting yourself so much and believe that you really do have complete control over your powers."

"I want to. I really do, but...I don't know how," Elsa admitted while glancing at the floor sadly.

Jack sighed and took her hand. "Follow me," he told her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"You'll see," was all Jack answered.

The white haired boy led her down the street, deeper into a part of town she didn't recognize. The entire place was almost covered in snow. Even everything rooftop was covered with snow. The sidewalk, too, was covered with an icy surface, making it very slippery. Elsa was trying to watch her footing to make sure she didn't slip onto any iced pavement.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, as he watched her watch her footing.

"Fine. I'm fine," Elsa lied, trying to keep her foot. Normally, she wasn't a bad skater, but she was hopeless walking on ice with regular shoes.

On the next step she took, her foot slid forward and Elsa found herself tumbling. She squealed as she braced for impact. But instead, she felt a strong arm catch her by the waist. Jack pulled her close to him and wrapped his other arm protectively around her waist while his other free hand cupped the back of her head. Elsa's face flushed with embarrassment.

"I thought ice doesn't bother you," he chuckled.

"Walking on ice isn't the same as walking on snow," Elsa pointed out.

"I'm doing alright," Jack shrugged with a smirk.

Elsa gave him a look, try to repress a laugh. "You and I are two different people!"

"Then it can't be helped."

"What are you-ah!"

Elsa yelped when Jack scooped her off the ground bridal style and took off into the air. She immediately wrapped her arms around him to feel more secure while being up in the air with him. One side of her cheek was pressing against his while she embraced his neck. Jack would be lying if he said it bothered him. The tiny skin contact was enough to make his heart beat fast with excitement. Elsa's face felt so soft. It was only now that he noticed since they we're both touching cheek to cheek for a while.

Down below, Elsa could see the rooftop of each building frosted with tons of snow. The people they flew over from below looked tiny almost like ants. Elsa didn't have a phobia for heights, but she would get nervous if she flew way too high. She has ridden on levitated icebergs, but she only kept up as high as she was comfortable. This would be considered the first time she went over her boundaries.

"A little warning would've been nice," Elsa pointed out.

"Don't tell me you're scared of heights," Jack chuckled. "This isn't the first time I took you flying."

"I'm not scared! I just wasn't ready!" Elsa corrected as her cheeks flushed red.

"Are you...nervous?" he asked.

"No!" Elsa lied.

"Liar," he teased.

Truth was she wasn't nervous as nervous about the flight as she thought. Now that she thought about it, she was still nervous that she was this close to Jack. Because of her inexperience with boys, she had never gotten this close to any guy before besides her father when she'd greet him with a hug.

A cold rush brushed the skin on Elsa's hands. When the blonde girl looked at her hands, she saw white frostings emerging from her skin, covering the tip of her fingers the same way it did back in the spa. Her heart was beating rapidly from nervousness as she felt an icy energy pulsating from her inside.

"Jack, I'm losing it," Elsa whimpered as she held one hand out to show him the icy, blue light that started erupting from her frosted palms.

"Let it go then," Jack said.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Don't hold back on it," Jack explained. "Just let it go."

"But there's people down there."

Jack gave her a reassuring smile. "You won't hurt anyone."

"But what if I hurt you?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he answered.

"Jack! I'm not-"

"I'm kidding!" he laughed. "But I mean it. Don't repress your powers anymore. Just let it go."

"I don't think I can do it, Jack," she said.

"Don't doubt yourself, Elsa," Jack said in a more stern voice, but it somehow remained gentle and reassuring. "I know you can do it."

When Jack smiled at her, she felt a certain comfort that made her feel hopeful. The nervousness she felt was slowly fading as she returned a smile to the winter spirit. With a deep breath, Elsa held her hand up and released an light of energy into the sky. The blue that emerged her palm shot up and separated into five different directions, forming a star. When it vanished, in its place was a beautiful snowfall. No icebergs, avalanches, blizzards, or stalagmites. Just beautiful soft snow.

Jack smiled, feeling accomplished for Elsa. "I knew you could do it."


End file.
